8:48 am, June 1, 2021
Pendragon employees face a nervous wait to find out whether they will keep their jobs after the firm put 250 employees in redundancy consultation.
The move comes just weeks after bosses survived a shareholder revolt over bumper new pay deals for the firm’s directors.
Boss Bill Berman accepted a £413,000 bonus and now stands to make over £3m from the new deal.
However, the Mail on Sunday reports that 250 of the company’s 400 accountants have now been put up for redundancy.
The consultation will go on throughout June with the aim of cutting jobs in Pendragon showrooms.
The firm, which owns the Evans Halshaw, Stratstone, Car Store and Pinewood brands, among others, will then create 110 new centralised roles at its Nottingham HQ.
The decision has sparked fury among workers, who have questioned why their jobs are at risk at the same time bosses receive pay rises.
One employee told the newspaper: ‘‘I’m disappointed to have to leave after years of service.
‘Ultimately, the staff are a cost and cutting us will reduce the bottom line. It makes you angry that the chief executive is taking his bonus while we’re losing our jobs.’
Less than two weeks ago, Berman and some of his fellow directors defeated a revolt from investors.
Shareholders including the Hedlin Group – which owns 13.77 percent of Pendragon – had called for their removal.
However, their reappointments were eventually approved at the dealer group’s annual meeting.
Berman’s annual salary is £550,000, but taking into account a long-term incentive plan plus a performance-related bonus, he now stands to make around £3.2m.
During the pandemic, Pendragon received £52m in taxpayer support and cut 1,800 jobs.
A spokesman for the firm said: ‘These measures will, unfortunately, result in changes to our workforce.
‘However we believe this new function will make an important contribution to our ability to meet the challenges of a changing market.’
Pendragon’s handling of the situation is in stark contrast to that of the Marshall Motor Group.
Boss Daksh Gupta recently told Car Dealer that he and his fellow directors rejected their annual bonuses last year.
The firm is also repaying £4m in government support it received during the pandemic.
