12:24 pm, December 4, 2024
Staff at Lookers say that their Christmas parties have been scrapped for the second year running as the dealer group goes ‘from bad to worse’ under its new Canadian ownership.
The former Car Dealer Top 100 retailer was bought by Global Auto Holdings in late 2023 and immediately upset employees my cancelling festive bashes and announcing mass redundancies.
Now, 12 months, on it seems that staff are now facing the same scenario, with Car Dealer reporting last month that more job losses are on the way.
Since breaking that story, more unhappy staff members have contacted Car Dealer to complain about at how the dealer group is being run.
One employee, who did not wish to be named, said that no Christmas events were being held for staff once again this year.
He added that things show no signs of improvement, amid a major cost-cutting operation, and accused the firm of overseeing ‘back street garage conditions’.
Among other complaints raised was a freeze in pay, which has lasted 18 months, and workshop privileges being taken away without explanation.
‘We have sites with not enough staff, no pay increase for almost 18 months and people leaving left, right and centre because of increased workload, lack of pay, high expectations and low reward,’ one insider told Car Dealer.
‘Workshop privileges have been taken away with no explanation. We are expected to achieve another 5% a month in productivity but are having to do admin work because of untrained staff being taken on that have no experience in the job they have been employed to do – obviously to save money.’
Outlining just how extreme the penny pinching has become, the employee told Car Dealer that staff are no longer being supplied with workwear, with safety boots the only exception to the rule.
He also alleged that the firm had switched to a ‘cheaper’ car cleaning company, which is leading to vehicles not being prepped properly.
‘We are no longer supplied workwear, apart from safety boots,’ he said.
‘They have changed to a cheaper cleaning company so cars are being poorly cleaned and prepped, and we no longer have a cleaner to wash the forecourt cars.
‘Our used car sales manager now has to not only do his job, but also photograph the cars for the website which admin used to do before they were made redundant. He is also having to wash the cars!
‘Head office have said thats how it is and its not going to change. We are working in back street garage conditions, but the labour rate keeps going up and customers are getting poorer service.
‘One site has 20 ramps but only seven technicians as they have all had enough. The company is going from bad to worse, with no signs of improvement.
‘There are no Christmas events for staff again either.’
Car Dealer has made multiple attempts to contact Lookers for comment but received no response.
The latest accusations come after Lookers’ annual accounts, which were filed late with Companies House, showed a £1.8m pre-tax loss in the 12 months to the end of December 2023.
The result saw the firm drop out of the recently-published Car Dealer Top 100 list of the UK’s most profitable dealers and included spending £8.4m on putting approximately 14% of its workforce at risk of redundancy.
