190 job losses at Cheadle finance firm

Cheadle based finance firm, Together, has confirmed that over 190 job losses have taken place as part of a restructure to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following government guidance to lenders to consider repayment holidays as a result of the economic impact of the crisis, the firm, which has a loan book of over £4 billion, saw 22% of customers by value defer payments. While over three quarters of customers are now making repayments again in full and with the firm continuing to grow its loan book once more, Together does not expect to return to pre-Covid levels of lending for some time.

As a result of the pandemic’s economic impact, Together began a consultation in July to reduce headcount by around 200 employees, mostly in the finance firm’s Cheadle head office. The firm also accelerated modernisation and transformation programmes as well as efforts to automate and digitise more of its customer service and processing functions in order to reduce costs and ensure a strong position after the crisis.

Following publication of the firm’s year-end results, Together confirmed that 191 job cuts have been made at the Cheadle business.

Gerald Grimes, Group CEO Designate of Together, said:

The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on the economy, on businesses and on the way we live our lives. Together entered the crisis in a strong position and we reacted quickly to support our customers, protect our colleagues and enhance the future resilience of our business. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their commitment and flexibility in adapting to new ways of working to support our customers.

“While it remains too early to reliably estimate the full economic impact of Covid-19, we expect conditions to remain challenging for some time. Unemployment is already rising and, with government stimulus packages set to unwind over the coming months, many people will find themselves in a very different position to how they entered the crisis. We are shaping our business to meet our customers’ evolving needs, to make us more efficient and to help us play our part in supporting the UK’s economic recovery.”