Nine jobs go as contact lens fulfilment centre closes

Tuesday 04 August 2015

The Jersey-based fulfilment centre for Daysoft contact lenses is to close at the end of August with the loss of nine full-time jobs.

Staff were informed of the decision on Monday.

Company spokesman Ron Hamilton, said: “Daysoft had been operating in Jersey since 2008. It is regrettable that our decision to close the Jersey fulfilment centre will result in local job losses and we are doing all we can to help our staff. We would like to pay tribute to the team for their hard work and we recognise this is a difficult time.”

Daysoft say it is offering all staff redundancy payments above those required by law and has invited specialist human resources representatives to the fulfilment centre to help staff find a new job.

Mr Hamilton said: “Daysoft-branded contact lenses are made in Blantyre in Scotland. As Blantyre has an order fulfilment department immediately next to the final production process it was decided to consolidate this work. 

“Blantyre will now handle both the order process work previously done in Jersey with the fulfilment work already established in Scotland.

“Faster delivery times and first-rate tracking services are increasingly in demand; the Blantyre operation is geographically better placed to offer these.”

“The sheer weight of the economic and delivery-speed argument was impossible to ignore.”

At one time, Jersey was a magnet for fulfilment firms, which took advantage of a tax loophole which meant products imported into the UK avoided VAT. But the loophole was closed by UK Chancellor George Osborne in April 2012. Since then, most fulfilment firms have been sold and / or left the Island, including Play.com and Feelunique.