Major retailer to close Scottish call centre within weeks - with loss of 150 jobs

Some employees have been given two weeks notice for their jobs to finish, while others who are entitled to more notice will be paid in lieu, reports from the BBC have claimed.

In August, staff at H&M’s Waverley Gate office were told the building would close due to the expiration of the lease in 2025 and consultations were held between September and November.

However, the company has now told workers that operations will cease from 14 December, with the site due to shut for good in March next year.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes met with company bosses when the move was first announced and asked them to look at alternative options to redundancies.

H&M said the number of job losses had been reduced by people being offered alternative roles, finding other employment or choosing to leave voluntarily. However, it said the closure was necessary due to “customers changing behaviours and expectations and operational costs”.

A spokeswoman for H&M said: "We constantly evaluate how we operate to ensure that we deliver on our goals and contribute to the overall success of the company.

"Having looked into the scope of our customer service set-up, increased competition in the market, our customers changing behaviours and expectations and operational costs, we have made the difficult decision to proceed with the proposed closure of our customer service site in Edinburgh by the end of the year."