From the Guardian · · 1m 30s
Ladbrokes owner cuts 400 jobs despite profit boost
Entain blames higher UK taxes and challenging conditions for slashing one in five customer care roles.
In brief
Entain blames higher UK taxes and challenging conditions for slashing one in five customer care roles. Entain is cutting 400 customer care jobs despite recent profit gains, citing higher UK taxes and a challenging operating environment. Originally reported by the Guardian.
400 jobs on the chopping block
Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, Coral and BetMGM, is cutting one in five customer care roles. This comes just weeks after reporting better than expected profits.
Profits beat expectations recently
The company hit £479m in operating profit for the first half of the year. That's 2% down from last year but ahead of investor expectations.
Higher UK taxes blamed
Entain points to rising UK taxes as a key reason for cuts. The sector is bracing for a possible increase to machine games duty in the October budget.
Doubling the tax could cost billions
Doubling machine games duty from 20% to 40% could raise up to £458m more in tax. Physical slot machines currently pay £600m annually.
CEO warns of shop closures
Stella David told Andy Burnham that a 40% duty rate would add £100m in costs. She claims this could force 1,470 betting shop closures and nearly 16,000 job losses.
Shares down, demotion looming
Entain shares have fallen 36% this year. The company will be demoted from the FTSE 100 to the mid-cap FTSE 250 index on September 21.
The takeaway
Entain is cutting 400 customer care jobs despite recent profit gains, citing higher UK taxes and a challenging operating environment.
