SYDNEY: Listed womenswear company Specialty Fashion Group (SFG) has thrown up a wall of silence in the wake of widespread job cuts at its Alexandria head office - and forced those affected to do the same.
It is understood the company instigated redundancies across its buying, design, production, property, logistics and development divisions in late December with even more expected after the commencement of Chinese New Year on February 7.
Former employees of the company told Ragtrader more than 20 jobs had already been slashed and that integrated supplier Tajura took the brunt of SFG's axe. One claimed "several" senior positions were among those affected inn the cost cutting exercise.
Despite several calls to executives at the company and its external public relations representatives, SFG failed to address the scale of redundancies before press. Sources did not wish to be identified due to a confidentiality clause in their agreements.
Speculation over the group's financial performance intensified last year after its share price plummeted by 46 per cent between January and May to 88 cent. Shares in the company, which operates chains Millers, Crossroads, Katies, Queenspark, City Chic and Autograph, closed at 26 cent on the day of press.
Redundancies across the sector are expected to continue into 2009 with listed apparel group Gazal admitting it had "rationalised" head office numbers at the close of 2008. It is believed up to 120 employees at the Sydney company were affected.
Official national employment figures indicated wholesale trade suffered the second-biggest falls in the number of jobs in the three months to the end of November. The broader industry posted a decline of five per cent, or 23,200 jobs, in the face of poorer sales while retail jobs decreased by 1.4 per cent or 21,2000 jobs.
Australian Centre For Retail Studies research analyst Alana Jones said despite sobering figures there was still hope on the horizon for retailers.
"There has been a lot of conjecture surrounding the topic of retail jobs[but] from my research. I can see that retail jobs in the US have been hit hard and that in Australia the situation might not be that bad."