Poundland has confirmed job losses as part of its ongoing restructure, following the withdrawal from online sales, the scrapping of frozen and chilled ranges, and recent store closures.

The discount retailer, which secured High Court approval for its restructuring plan on 26 August, said a two-month consultation with affected colleagues is due to conclude this week.

Roles have been cut at Poundland’s Walsall customer service centre, reported The Grocer, along with its distribution sites in Darton, South Yorkshire, and Springvale in Bilston, Wolverhampton, which are both set to close under the plan.

It is understood their delivery volumes will be absorbed into the remaining depots in Wigan and Harlow, meanwhile the restructuring also included the retirement of Poundland’s transactional website and rewards app in August.

The changes come after the closure of 57 stores this summer. Poundland has said its estate will shrink over time from around 800 sites when the plan was announced in June to between 650 and 700.

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A spokesperson said: “We’ve made no secret of the fact we need to create a simpler and more focused business to get us back on track after a significant period of underperformance.

“While it’s sincerely regrettable our plan involves job losses, it’s necessary if we’re to secure the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores in the long term.”

“Alongside a reduced number of stores, the withdrawal from categories such as frozen food and the retirement of our transactional website and rewards app, at the beginning of August, we also proposed the removal of central roles at our Walsall CSC and the closures of our Darton and Springvale DCs to help us create a sustainable platform for the future.

“This has involved placing a number of roles at risk of redundancy based at, or out of, the customer service centre in Walsall and at both Darton and Springvale distribution centres. It goes without saying that we have consulted formally with individuals affected by these announcements and that work is now almost complete.

“It’s sincerely regrettable that our plan to restore the business to health involves any potential job losses, but it’s necessary if we’re to achieve our goal of securing the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores in the long term.