Northern Ireland's largest car dealership confirms plans to cut jobs 'to keep the business efficient'

Charles Hurst, Northern Ireland’s largest new and used car, van and motorcycle dealer, has revealed plans to cut jobs.

Less than two week before Christmas, the car dealer has announced that about 100 local staff face redundancy across the group’s eight sites in the region.

The announcement was made internally on Monday within weeks of the dealer’s parent company Lookers plc being taken private by new owner Global Auto Holdings.

Charles Hurst employs close to 900 staff across the province. It is believed some sales staff and business managers may be affected by the cuts.

Notice periods are still being confirmed and will be dependent on the length of service and role of each colleague at risk.

Lookers confirmed that a certain number of ‘corporate and support roles’ relating to its status as a listed company may be affected.

A spokesperson for Lookers said: “Last week, Lookers confirmed that a certain number of corporate and support roles that relate to its status as a listed company may be affected by a proposed programme now that the business is no longer listed on the London Stock Exchange.

“We have now completed a detailed review of our business and operations in order to keep the business efficient and ensure we have a manageable cost base. Unfortunately, a number of roles have been identified across our operations that are now at risk of redundancy.”

Charles Hurst, which is led by operations director Jeff McCartney, runs Europe’s biggest automotive retail operation on a 30-acre site on the Boucher Road in south Belfast.

In August, the car dealer revealed plans for £2million investment and 26 new jobs as it expands its electric car offering, paving the way for a new CUPRA and SEAT dealership.

Last month the local car dealer was also recognised for their achievements, resilience and dedication of our local automotive industry scooping eight titles at the Northern Ireland Motor Industry Awards. A big winner on the night, Charles Hurst Group, walked away with top awards including Dealer Group of the Year, Best Employer Excellence and Franchise Dealer of the Year.