Alliance Boots has confirmed the closure of the Dollond & Aitchison support office in Aston, Birmingham, as it pushes ahead with plans to integrate the business with Boots Opticians following the merger of the two optical chains earlier this year.
Optician understands that the 192 staff at the Aston facility were told last Wednesday about the plans to combine the back-room functions of the two businesses in one location in Nottingham.
In a statement to Optician, a spokeswoman for Alliance Boots, said: 'Boots Opticians has proposed that all support office functions will be based in Nottingham by March 2011, with the first phase of the office moves taking place during January 2010.
'It is anticipated that the combination of the support office functions of the two legacy businesses is likely to lead to a reduction in roles and relocation of some roles to Nottingham. Boots Opticians proposes to manage any reduction in roles and relocation of offices, wherever possible, through a combination of natural turnover, redeployment within Boots UK and across Alliance Boots, and relocation,' she added.