For 2,727 men and women this Christmas has brought bad news with the closure of City Link and the loss of their jobs. Probably, their CEO, David Smith, and Board members will be feeling pretty rotten for some time to come. The company has clearly been struggling from time. In 2013 Rentokil sold the business to Better Capital for £1 with the hope that some £40 million was going to be invested. Just a few months ago a number of key people were added to the Board of Directors in a rescue attempt. It looks as if the firm has been running on optimism since 2007. Having twice been in a similar management situation I can imagine the painful gut wrenching decision making that has been taking place behind the scene - including the decision of when to break the news to the men and women whose lives have now been shattered.
During the Thatcher years things looked good for some time. In the town where I lived at that time I had responsibility for a small Christian bookshop that was far from adequate for serving the many local growing churches. A through business appraisal was undertaken before deciding to love to new and larger premises in a good location. Although the rent was expensive it was expected that growth in business should bring us into profit within two years of trading. In the first year of trading customer numbers and sales far exceeded the predictions. But the second year saw customer numbers increase but sales actually decline. It was the first indication of the recession that hit the town hard at the end of the eighties and early nineties.
I invested long hours and £6,000 of my own money (almost everything I had) to try to keep the business afloat. But the independent actions of a new Board member resulted in the loss of a major customer and we were left with no option other than to put the shop into administration. A plan which involved the establishing of a smaller Christian bookshop and a relatively good settlement for suppliers, sweetened the bitterness of the situation. But even that was spoiled by the action of one creditor, leaving several smaller suppliers in difficulties.
While the loss of that business was the result of three situations beyond my control it still took several years for me to get over the negative feelings it generated.
Some years later I was asked to help rescue a privately owned academic institution. The education provided by this college was both unique and excellent. Unfortunately, it appeared that inadequate business management had led to the crisis in which it found itself.
The Board of Directors, which by then included me, took several radical steps, cutting operational costs, redirecting capital, and had succeeded in what would have been an effective plan that would have reinvigorated the College. It began to turn around and light was clearly visible at the end of the tunnel. The final piece of the puzzle involved some adjustment to staff salaries in hope that redundancies could be avoided. Sadly, a senior academic staff member convinced the owner of the College to act against the decision of the Board and instead to invest more personal money she could not afford to support his alternative plan.
Inevitably, the Board members resigned, the company was liquidated a few years later and the owner lost her investment. Instead of experiencing some temporary reduction of salaries, the staff all lost their jobs.
Fortunately most enterprises in which I have been involved have not suffered bad news such as on these occasions. But we live in a world where bad things happen - sometimes as the consequences of our own failings, and sometimes because of the actions of others. In the business world, hope alone is no guarantee of a good outcome.
It appears that City Link has been failing for some years in a business sector that has become increasingly competitive. No doubt the Board members have been doing all they could do avoid the bad news that has come out this Christmas. I expect that all in the firm have been hoping for a better outcome. It is probable that, to some extent, hope that things will get better will have been shattered by circumstances beyond their control.
How well this resonates with the story Jesus told of a farmer who, having experienced and exceptionally good year of business, made plans to sit back and enjoy a comfortable life for years to come. (See Luke 12:13-21.) But there was a major unforeseen factor beyond his control that would take place within a few hours. In his situation the final outcome would have been better for him if he had given his surplus goods to feed the hungry and help the poor.
It will not just be the 2,720 employees of City Link that will feel emotional pain, suffer financial loss, and possibly other long term problems. Other businesses will be affected. Other family members will be affected. I pray that, wherever possible, churches will be ready to give emotional support to those who are the casualties of this bad news. I pray too that hope will not be entirely abandoned, but rather that it will be put into that which is always absolutely certain: the character and promises of God.
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