A number of redundancies have been announced at Dundee’s CJ Lang.
The company, which has operated out of the city for more than a century, owns Scotland’s Spar convenience stores.
CJ Lang confirmed a redundancy process is ongoing when approached by The Courier, but would not say how many roles are affected.
The Courier understands the number of positions being made redundant is in double figures.
Customer facing jobs and the firm’s distribution network would not be impacted, the company said.
Boss warned of job losses last year
The announcement follows comments made by CJ Lang chairman Jim Hepburn to The Courier last year.
He warned impacts brought about by the UK Government’s changes to National Insurance employer contribution thresholds could leader to “fewer jobs”.
CJ Lang posted profits of £4 million in its most recent annual accounts.
And the company bought former Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson’s Eddy’s Foodstation shops as it saw turnover hit £253m.
A spokesperson for CJ Lang confirmed a period of consultation has been entered.
“Unfortunately we have entered into a period of consultation that may result in a small number of redundancies,” they said.
“We are providing assistance and support to affected employees during this period.
“These changes will not impact our customer facing store operations or our distribution network.
“We also remain committed to supporting all our independent retail partners.”
CJ Lang warning
The Longtown Road headquartered company supplies more than 300 Spar shops in Scotland and also owns 107 company stores. It has a staff roster of more than 1,800.
A family-run business, CJ Lang has operated from Dundee since 1919.
Speaking with The Courier last year, Mr Hepburn warned increases to National Insurance contributions from employers could lead to a number of unexpected costs being passed on to businesses.
These were implemented at the beginning of April.
He said: “The prime minister (refused to rule out) that employer contributions on national insurance are going to increase.
“That has certainly not been in our thoughts going in to this year and it is an extra cost that cannot be avoided, other than doing something productivity-wise, which ultimately might result in fewer jobs.”
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