DIY giant the latest in a line of retailers to announce redundancies in a bid to mitigate a sharp decline in like-for-like sales this year.
The number of jobs at risk is as yet unclear, but, in a statement released this week, Homebase confirmed that "the challenging trading conditions facing the DIY market and the retail sector in general mean that Homebase needs to further review costs to ensure that the business is managed in the most efficient way."

What this means in practice is that all those whose jobs are at risk will be notified this week. A group consultation period will follow, commencing on November 17 followed by individual meetings with those affected. The process, says the company, "has been designed to make sure that we minimise the number of redundancies necessary."

Rival retailer B&Q is also expecting a tough 12 months, as chief exec Ian Cheshire says he does not expect growth from the UK market for at least the next year.

However, with the slump in housebuilding in the UK many Polish builders are returning to Poland, prompting a boom in the sector there - no surprise then that Russia and Poland are at the forefront of B&Q parent Kingfisher's expansion plans.