Gymshark: Jobs at risk at major West Midlands gymwear specialists - here's why

According to reports, around 300 jobs could be at risk at the Solihull-based company.

Drapers reports that staff have been notified of the planned restructure. Gymshark has said 296 jobs are at risk of redundancy.

A Gymshark sokesperson said: "We can confirm we have proposed a business restructure, which will place approximately 296 roles at risk of redundancy. However, at the same time, we will be creating 168 new roles to help drive our future growth.

"Therefore, our immediate priority is to help and support those at risk through this process, while seeking to offer as many of them as possible these new roles.

"We find ourselves in a time of intense macro-economic volatility. We, like so many others in the retail sector, need to be set up not only to weather these near-term storms, but also to build and grow in the future.

“We have therefore carefully reviewed our operating model and organisational structure to ensure we have the right teams and roles to support these goals.”

Gymshark was founded by Birmingham-born Ben Francis. Francis has a net worth of £725m (£925m). The company’s headquarters is based in Solihull.

Francis set up the clothing-leisure brand after dropping out of university and working as a Pizza Hut delivery boy. Fond of pumping iron himself, he started out selling health supplements with his school friend Lewis Morgan.

An investment round in 2020 valued Gymshark at more than £1bn. Francis and family still own 72 per cent.