Cazoo cuts 750 staff amid car market closures across Europe

Around 750 jobs are being cut at online car retailer Cazoo across Europe as it axes its used car markets in the European Union.

Bosses said the company has taken the “tough decision” to focus solely on its UK business and save more than £100 million by shaving off the 15% of its workforce based in the EU.

It plans to first wind down its operations in Germany and Spain, and is consulting with employee representatives in France and Italy over the closures.

Alex Chesterman, Cazoo founder and chief executive, said: “Given our target of reaching profitability by the end of next year, we have taken the tough decision to focus solely on the huge UK used car market, worth over £100 billion annually.

“I would like to thank all our colleagues in the EU who are impacted by this decision, and we will of course look to support them in every way possible.”

The closures will speed up its path to profitability and take away the need to raise extra funding to achieve this, Cazoo said. It added that the company hopes to break even on its cash flow by the end of 2023.

The group said its management team was “very excited” about the future opportunity to capture more than 5% of the UK’s market share and become the biggest and most profitable car retailer in the country.

It comes as Cazoo unveiled plans in June to reduce its workforce and slow down hiring new staff after it warned over recession fears and consumer cut backs.

The firm previously said it was not immune to the possibility of a recession in the coming months, delivering a more cautious outlook on its full-year financial results.

As part of the cost-cutting initiatives, it would close two of its 10 vehicle preparation sites in the UK and one of its two customer support centres, based in Leeds.

Cazoo declined to give details on the specific job impact for workers in the UK.

The announcement on Thursday followed a review launched last month into its EU business in efforts to preserve cash.