Retailer’s plan for 1,500 job losses in shake-up
Managerial roles to be focus of Morrisons’ cuts
SUPERMARKET CHAIN Morrisons has confirmed that 1,500 jobs are to be axed in the latest wave of redundancies to hit the nation’s beleaguered retail sector.
Only four years after a major shake-up was carried out at the Yorkshire-based company, senior executives at Morrisons confirmed yesterday that it had become the latest supermarket to announce large-scale job cuts.
The supermarket giant, which has its headquarters in Bradford, said the shake-up is part of a restructure that would see more customer service staff and fewer managers. Under the proposals, roles such as warehouse manager are set to be culled.
Gary Mills, Morrisons retail director, said: “Our aim is to serve customers better with more front-line colleagues in stores improving product availability and helping customers at the checkouts. Very regrettably, there will be a period of uncertainty for some managers affected by these proposals and we’ll be supporting them through this important process. Our commitment is to redeploy as many affected colleagues as possible.”
Simultaneously, Morrisons said it will create 1,700 junior jobs. The firm also said affected managers will be given the opportunity to apply for about 800 management vacancies in Morrisons stores.
Several household names have embarked on job-cutting drives recently, including supermarket giants Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Leeds-based Asda. Earlier this week, B&Q said it is to axe 200 head-office jobs as part of a costcutting drive at the DIY retailer.
And Marks & Spencer announced on Wednesday that hundreds of jobs are under threat, including more than 70 posts at two stores in Yorkshire which are to close as part of a national restructuring programme.
The high-street giant is set to close shops in Bridlington and Keighley and 12 other outlets, putting a total of 468 jobs at risk.
The latest news comes at a bruising time for high street retailers, which are struggling with Brexit-fuelled inflation that has sent the cost of goods rocketing and consumer confidence plummeting. To compound matters, firms have been stung by soaring business rates.
However, Morrisons has been among the strongest performers compared to its peers over the past 12 months, with a turnaround led by chief executive David Potts bearing fruit.
Over Christmas, Morrisons was a stand-out performer among the so-called Big Four thanks to surging sales of its premium range and efforts to keep a lid on prices. Group like-for-like sales jumped 2.8 per cent in the ten weeks to January 7, with retail sales up 2.1 per cent and wholesale 0.7 per cent ahead.
Joanne McGuinness, Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied workers) national officer, said: “This is a further big upheaval for the Morrisons store management team after the restructure in 2014/15. We will be entering into consultations with the company on behalf of our members affected by these changes, which the company proposes to implement in April.”
We will be entering into consultations with the company. Joanne McGuinness, Usdaw national officer.