Geneva/London — The UK retail industry’s Brexit-linked turmoil deepened as J Sainsbury said it will cut as many as 2,000 jobs, Zalando said the market is losing attractiveness, and rival online fashion site Asos discussed contingency plans. Sainsbury’s move follows Tesco’s, which announced 1,200 head-office job cuts in June. Asos, which sells clothing and accessories online, said on Tuesday it may handle more of its distribution activities out of Germany if the UK falls out of the European customs union. That could put a damper on growth prospects for its 4,000-employee warehouse in Barnsley, England, although the company is continuing to invest in it for now. Brexit is heaping more upheaval on an already embattled industry. The country’s grocers have been grappling with discount rivals and higher staffing costs, while fashion retailers struggle against consumers’ preference to spend their disposable income on leisure activities rather than clothing. The pound’s decline since the Br...
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