Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced 365 job cuts – with next month’s Budget triggered cost hikes being partly blamed. The grocer confirmed plans to close cafes, hot food counters, florists and pharmacies in a number of its stores. It also shutting 17 standalone convenience stores.
Bosses said the shake-up was partly to “help mitigate recent significant cost increases.” It comes as companies prepare for a jump in costs when employers’ National Insurance goes up next month, along with an increase in the minimum wage. Businesses have previously warned that the double whammy – along with other cost increases – would lead to higher prices and potential job losses.
Morrisons unveiled plans to close 52 Cafés, all 18 Market Kitchens food counters, 17 convenience stores – which used to be McColls – 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies. It said a “significant majority” of staff affected by the changes were expected to be deployed in elsewhere in Morrisons, but that there will be a total of around 365 colleagues at risk of redundancy. Are you a Morrisons worker who is being impacted by these changes? Get in touch: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
Rami Baitiéh, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “The changes we are announcing today are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth.
“Morrisons Cafés are rightly famous for their great quality well-priced food, their place in the local community and their appealing mix of traditional favourites alongside exciting new dishes. In most locations the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.
“Market Street is a beacon of differentiation for Morrisons and we remain committed to it. But as we modernise we are making some necessary changes to the areas of the model which are simply uneconomic. In some stores where we are closing counters or Cafés, we plan to work with third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer.”
“Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues. We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes.” Did you use Morrisons cafes? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
In January, Sainsbury’s announced plans to close all its remaining in-store cafes as part of a wider shake-up resulting in more than 3,000 job losses. The proposals also included closing all remaining hot food, pizza and patisserie counters in its supermarkets nationwide. Like Morrisons, the increase in national insurance was said to be a factor.
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