B&Q boss cuts 400 jobs in strategic review

B&Q is expected to cut 400 jobs this week as the DIY chain's parent company, Kingfisher, seeks to shore up profits in the face of a consumer spending slowdown.

The posts will go from the company's Southampton headquarters, which employs 1,400 people. Staff at B&Q's 338 stores around Britain, which have a 39,000-strong workforce, are not thought to be under immediate threat.

The cuts are part of a strategic review by Ian Cheshire, the new chief executive of B&Q who took up the post in July.

Kingfisher will announce interim results on September 15, amid speculation that it will issue a profit warning for the full year. Analysts expect pre-tax profits for 2005 to come in at about £530m but reports at the weekend speculated that the figure could be lower than £500m.

Mr Cheshire's review is expected to echo some analysts' concerns that the stores do not focus enough on the role of the female shopper in the DIY market. B&Q is already expanding in some areas, including building trade equipment for the nation's plumbers and electricians. B&Q's parent company, Kingfisher, declined to comment yesterday.

The expected job cuts come as the British Retail Consortium and KPMG prepare to publish high-street sales figures tomorrow. Like-for-like sales for August could show a decline of about 1%, according to weekend reports. Categories sensitive to B&Q's business, led by housing, DIY and home furnishing, have been under the most pressure from waning consumer confidence over the past month.

The Bank of England's monetary policy committee will consider the consumer outlook when it meets on Wednesday and Thursday to decide whether to change interest rates. According to a poll of City economists by the research firm Ideaglobal, there is a 90% chance that rates will be held at 4.5%.