Full Breakdown
John Lewis Plans to Shut In-Store Currency Exchange and Gift-Wrapping Services, Putting ~200 Jobs at Risk
7/8/2026, 6:11:15 AM
Proposed Service Closures
John Lewis Partnership has opened a consultation on closing its in-store foreign-exchange bureaux in 30 of its 36 department-store locations and its specialist gift-wrapping areas in 25 stores. If approved, the changes would take effect in autumn 2026 and could affect 200 employees. The retailer cites falling demand for in-store currency exchange and a shift toward online ordering and digital payments.
Business Context and Scale
Since chair Jason Tarry took over in 2024, John Lewis has closed its house-building arm, cut 3,300 jobs across the partnership and invested £50 million in modernising five stores. In March the partnership paid a 2% salary bonus to staff for the first time since 2022 after underlying profit rose 6% to £134 million, despite a pre-tax loss of £21 million from one-off technology write-downs. Total sales grew 5% to £13.4 billion, with Waitrose up 7% and department-store sales up 3%. The retailer employs about 65,700 people; 1,500 roles were cut from John Lewis stores in 2025. The proposed closures would affect 30 stores’ foreign-exchange counters and 25 stores’ gift-wrapping desks, putting roughly 200 jobs at risk.
Official Position and Staff Support
John Lewis says the closures respond to customers increasingly ordering foreign currency online and preferring home delivery or in-store collection. Retailer pledged to support affected staff throughout the consultation, explore redeployment options and maintain shop-floor handling of most customer queries. The changes are part of a broader modernisation plan that includes electronic shelf labels and artificial-intelligence tools.
Staff Opposition
A staff member told The Guardian that “they are removing the area of the shop that John Lewis claims they stand for,” and said shop-floor workers are already “overworked, overwhelmed with responsibilities and short-staffed.” Critics warn cuts could erode brand’s high-touch service reputation and increase pressure on remaining employees.
Verbatim Quotes
- “As we focus on modernising this proposition to meet our customers' changing needs, we're proposing to close our in-store foreign exchange bureaus as well as our gift wrapping service.” — John Lewis spokesperson
- “ The retailer said customers were increasingly ordering foreign currency online and collecting it in store.” — John Lewis spokesperson
- “They are removing the area of the shop that John Lewis claims they stand for.” — John Lewis employee (staff member)
- “skip past newsletter promotion Free newsletter | Every weekday Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Preview latest Enter your email Sign up after newsletter promotion “This isn’t a decision we’ve taken lightly, and we will support impacted partners throughout the consultation process and support redeployment where possible.” — John Lewis spokesperson
Outlook
The consultation will continue through the autumn, after which the partnership will decide whether to proceed with the closures. If approved, the affected service areas will be repurposed, and customers will retain access to currency services via online ordering and store collection. Ongoing modernization investments are expected to shape further changes to the John Lewis estate.
