British retailer Boots said today it was ending a range of services, including laser eye correction and dentistry, in a move set to involve around 850 jobs.
Chiropody and laser hair-removal services will also be ended under the plan, which is part of an attempt to focus on the main operations of Boots The Chemists and Boots Opticians.
The company said it hoped to redeploy as many of the staff positions as possible, although it did not provide details.
A spokesperson for Boots in Ireland said the move would not impact on its Irish operations the health services are not offered here.
In a statement today , Boots said the loss-making services, which were set up in 1999 and 2000, had little prospect of making acceptable returns for the group.
The company said the closure move would cost £55 million sterling in exceptional costs - including a one-off accounting charge on the value of the businesses - but that it would help improve trading profits.
In the last financial year, the dentistry, chiropody and laser hair removal businesses reported losses of £16.3 million, while there was a deficit of £3.8 million for laser eye-correction work.