UK mobile phone retailer to axe 2,900 jobs

London: UK electricals retailer Dixons Carphone on Tuesday said it would axe 2,900 jobs, blaming changed consumer behaviour for shutting mobile phone shops as it awaits “turbulent times” over the coronavirus.

Dixons Carphone, formed in 2014 through the merger of electrical goods retailer Dixons and mobile telecoms group Carphone Warehouse, said it would close all 531 mobile phone stores on April 3.

The group will in future sell mobile phones online and across its 305 Currys PCWorld branches that sell multiple electrical goods.

The group said the announcement was essential to return the mobile phone division to profitability, with it set to make a loss of £90 million ($109 million, 99 million euros) this year.