Boohoo is considering closing a factory in Leicester, which it only opened in January 2022 in a bid to improve the treatment of the workers making its clothing.
The fast fashion ecommerce firm said it will work with the 100 employees, many who work on quality assurance and ethical compliance, impacted by the closure. It expects that “some roles will be relocated”.
A spokesperson for Boohoo Group, said: “We opened Thurmaston Lane in January 2022 to support [Boohoo] in several ways, including manufacturing, printing and training.
“As in any retail business the role of our sites continues to evolve over time and following significant investments at our Sheffield distribution centre and the opening of new distribution centre in the USA, we must now take steps to continue to ensure we are a more efficient, productive and strengthened business.
“All these factors have led us to make the difficult decision to consider relocating some of the operations at Thurmaston Lane and consider the closure of the site in due course.
“We are now in a period of consultation and are working closely with all affected colleagues to ensure they are fully supported during this process.”
The closure of the Thurmaston Lane factory comes only two months after a BBC Panorama investigation alleged Boohoo had broken promises to make its clothes fairly, and was pressuring suppliers to drive prices down.
As part of the documentary, an undercover journalist found the Leicester factory had been subcontracting orders to Morocco. Boohoo has stressed the closure was not related to the findings of the BBC investigation.
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