Competitors Rally to Save Phones4U Jobs

We’ve been hearing a lot about the recent Phones4U administration fiasco, when the successful high street phone company got left high and dry by unscrupulous maneuvering by competitors. The company was forced into administration after sneaky rivals managed to leave them with not a business contact to their name.

Phones4U stores have been shut since last week.

After the closure of Phones4U’s stores country wide, we heard that EE, one of those seemingly responsible for the closure, were to guarantee contacts for the iPhone 6 ordered with them through the stricken Phones4U.

However, the issue of the 5596 employees who have been left without work across the country has yet to have been resolved.

Thankfully, former competitors and ex business partners Vodafone and Dixons Carphone have banded together to save at least some of Phones4U’s employees from destitution or having to find more work the hard way.

First, Dixons Carphone, another company who had contributed to the downfall of Phones4U, decided that they would do the honorable thing and pick up the jobs of 800 Phones4U employees. Dixons took on those employees who had worked in tiny ‘stores within a store’ which were already located within Dixons owned locations, such as Currys and PC World.

These 800 employees have been saved from the job centre, thanks to Dixons. These employees are lucky, they will be able to potentially stay working in the same store, with the same co-workers, with a simple change of hats the only difference.

140 Phones4U stores will become Vodafone stores

In a much more grand gesture (considering their part in Phones4U’s demise was very big), Vodafone has made the decision to take on board 140 Phones4U store locations around the country, rebranding them with Vodafone’s livery and re-employing the staff as fresh new Vodafone employees.

Around 900 former Phones4U employees have also been saved from the jaws of the job centre by Vodafone, and will be absorbed into their company as part of the deal.

We’ll keep you posted on whether any other companies decide to take on any more Phones4U employees or store locations in the future. For now though, the remaining 3900 employees are still in administration limbo thanks to the closure.

Source: Dixons Carphone on Twitter

Via: PWC