With Phones 4u having entered administration earlier this month, the UK’s leading 4G network provider, EE, has agreed to buy out 58 of the retailer’s stores.
In a move which will save some 359 jobs, EE has followed rival Vodafone in striking up a deal with Phones 4u’s administrators PwC. Last week Vodafone announced it would buy and rebrand 140 Phones 4u retail outlets around the UK.
With more than 700 retail spots being closed, and almost 5,600 staff to be made redundant, EE and Vodafone’s acquisitions account for just a fraction of the impending loses.
Controversially, it has been suggested EE and Vodafone helped nudge Phones 4u into administration with both withdrawing its contracts from the high street chain.
“The unexpected decisions by both Vodafone and EE have come as a complete shock to the business,” a Phones 4u spokesperson stated in announcing the company’s recent demise.
Speaking at the time, they added: “The company is in a healthy state and both EE and Vodafone had, until very recently, consistently indicated that they saw Phones 4u as a long-term strategic partner.”
With PwC having confirmed that 628 employees from the Phones 4u head office are set to lose their jobs, rival retailers Dixons Carphone has announced it will offer sales positions to 800 Phones 4u workers.
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Via: BBC
