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Latest NewsHR strategyRecruitment & retentionLabour turnoverHuman capital

Jamie Oliver mulls plans to find work for ‘incredible’ Woolworths staff

by Louisa Peacock 13 Jan 2009
by Louisa Peacock 13 Jan 2009

Some sacked Woolworths staff may yet be ‘saved’ by Jamie Oliver after he declared he will cook up a scheme to try to “use” them.

The celebrity TV chef is deliberating ways to rescue some of the 27,000 employees who lost their jobs when the retailer closed its final stores earlier this month.

In an interview with Radio Times, he said: “I’m looking at 27,000 Woolworths’ staff getting made redundant and I’m thinking, ‘Right, how can I come up with something that might be able to use some of those incredible people?’.”

He added: “They had some amazing staff working for that company.”

However, details of what Oliver has planned are slimmer than a fat-free diet. He said: “There’s a different way to teach cooking,” later adding, “I’m a real believer in social business. And I’m not scared to fail at things.”

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Woolworths was one of the high-street’s best-known brands, having operated for 99 years.

The retailer joins a string of other companies forced to go into administration, like music store Zavvi or cut jobs like book store Waterstones.

Louisa Peacock

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