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| Sainsbury’s to cut 3,000 jobs as it shuts hot food counters and cafes | Sainsbury’s to cut 3,000 jobs as it shuts hot food counters and cafes |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Supermarket chain to cut head office roles by a fifth amid rising labour costs | Supermarket chain to cut head office roles by a fifth amid rising labour costs |
| Sainsbury’s is to cut 3,000 jobs in the UK through the closure of its hot food counters and cafes and by reducing senior management roles by a fifth, amid rising labour costs. | Sainsbury’s is to cut 3,000 jobs in the UK through the closure of its hot food counters and cafes and by reducing senior management roles by a fifth, amid rising labour costs. |
| Simon Roberts, the chief executive of the supermarket group, said he was making the job cuts as part of its already announced efforts to slash £1bn from costs as the business was “facing into a particularly challenging cost environment”. | Simon Roberts, the chief executive of the supermarket group, said he was making the job cuts as part of its already announced efforts to slash £1bn from costs as the business was “facing into a particularly challenging cost environment”. |
| “We have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective,” he added. | “We have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective,” he added. |
| The job losses came after Britain’s largest retailers warned they could be forced to cut thousands of roles and raise prices this year as a result of measures in Labour’s budget to increase employer national insurance contributions by a projected £25bn in this parliament and raise the national minimum wage by 6.7%. | |
| After the announcement by Sainsbury’s, a Downing Street spokesperson stressed that “difficult decisions” in the budget would help pave the way for economic growth. | After the announcement by Sainsbury’s, a Downing Street spokesperson stressed that “difficult decisions” in the budget would help pave the way for economic growth. |
| Asked how the government would respond to suggestions that layoffs at the supermarket were influenced by the budget, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Growing the economy, backing businesses, putting more money in people’s pockets are obviously the priority. | |
| “It is only by growing the economy we can fund our public services and raise living standards.” | “It is only by growing the economy we can fund our public services and raise living standards.” |
| Sainsbury’s will close remaining patisserie, hot food and pizza counters, shifting the most popular items from there into regular shopping aisles and offering “self-serve” bread slicing. | Sainsbury’s will close remaining patisserie, hot food and pizza counters, shifting the most popular items from there into regular shopping aisles and offering “self-serve” bread slicing. |
| It will also close all 61 remaining Sainsbury’s branded cafes, subject to consultation. Explaining the move, it said: “The majority of Sainsbury’s most loyal shoppers do not use the cafes regularly and cafes and food halls run by specialist partners are becoming more and more popular.” | |
| The chain, which employs 148,000 people, has almost 600 supermarkets and more than 800 convenience stores. About 20% of senior management roles will be cut. | The chain, which employs 148,000 people, has almost 600 supermarkets and more than 800 convenience stores. About 20% of senior management roles will be cut. |
| Most big supermarkets traded well over the festive period. Sainsbury’s, which also owns Argos and Habitat, said earlier this month it had had its “biggest ever Christmas”, with sales up by 3.8% in the six weeks to 4 January. Sales at its Argos stores rose 1.1% in that period. | |
| However, the UK grocery industry trade body IGD said on Thursday that supermarket sales had fallen, if inflation was excluded, and it was “hard to envisage sustained strong growth in the UK economy or in household prosperity over 2025”. | |
| It also increased its prediction for grocery price inflation to as much as 4.9% in 2025, up from a previous estimate of 4% that it put out only last month. The IGD pointed to wage rises and the continued cost increases on some commodities, such as cocoa. | |
| Sainsbury’s is also reorganising office departments to create “fewer, bigger roles with clearer accountabilities”. It said the changes would “drive faster decision-making and bring costs down” by reducing the number of senior management roles by a fifth over the next few months. Jobs are expected to go at its offices in London and Milton Keynes. | Sainsbury’s is also reorganising office departments to create “fewer, bigger roles with clearer accountabilities”. It said the changes would “drive faster decision-making and bring costs down” by reducing the number of senior management roles by a fifth over the next few months. Jobs are expected to go at its offices in London and Milton Keynes. |
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| “The decisions we are announcing today are essential to ensure we continue to drive forward our momentum,” Roberts said. | “The decisions we are announcing today are essential to ensure we continue to drive forward our momentum,” Roberts said. |
| The latest closures announcement came nearly three years after Sainsbury’s closed 200 in-store cafes and 34 hot food counters as part of a shake-up that put 2,000 jobs at risk. | |
| The company, said it would aim to redeploy workers where possible and offer a support package to those affected that exceeds statutory requirements. | The company, said it would aim to redeploy workers where possible and offer a support package to those affected that exceeds statutory requirements. |
| Clive Black, a retail analyst at Sainsbury’s joint broker Shore Capital, said the chain had taken an “increasingly necessary step” of reducing its workforce by about 2% in the light of changes to tax and regulation that would start to be implemented from April. | |
| Holding his profit expectations for the group at £740m, Black said: “Whilst very difficult, such steps are necessary to us, especially in the face of very considerable UK government-sourced cost expansion.” | |
| Sainsbury’s cafes to close | Sainsbury’s cafes to close |
| Leicester – Fosse Park | Leicester – Fosse Park |
| Pontypridd | Pontypridd |
| Littlehampton – Rustington | Littlehampton – Rustington |
| Scarborough | Scarborough |
| Penzance | Penzance |
| Denton | Denton |
| Wrexham | Wrexham |
| Norwich – Longwater | Norwich – Longwater |
| Ely | Ely |
| Pontllanfraith | Pontllanfraith |
| Bristol – Emersons Green | Bristol – Emersons Green |
| Nantwich | Nantwich |
| Exeter – Pinhoe Road | Exeter – Pinhoe Road |
| Northfleet – Pepper Hill | Northfleet – Pepper Hill |
| Solihull – Marshall Lake | Solihull – Marshall Lake |
| Rhyl | Rhyl |
| Lincoln | Lincoln |
| Bridgemead | Bridgemead |
| Larkfield | Larkfield |
| Whitchurch – Bargates | Whitchurch – Bargates |
| Hastings – Sedlescombe Road | Hastings – Sedlescombe Road |
| Barnstaple | Barnstaple |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury |
| King’s Lynn – Hardwick | King’s Lynn – Hardwick |
| Truro | Truro |
| Ipswich – Warren Heath | Ipswich – Warren Heath |
| Godalming | Godalming |
| Hereford | Hereford |
| Chichester | Chichester |
| Bognor Regis | Bognor Regis |
| Newport | Newport |
| Poole – Talbot Heath | Poole – Talbot Heath |
| Rugby | Rugby |
| Cannock | Cannock |
| Leek | Leek |
| Bristol – Winterstoke Road | Bristol – Winterstoke Road |
| Stockport – Hazel Grove | Stockport – Hazel Grove |
| Morecambe | Morecambe |
| Darlington | Darlington |
| York – Monks Cross | York – Monks Cross |
| Plymouth – Marsh Mills | Plymouth – Marsh Mills |
| Chelmsford – Springfield | |
| Durham | Durham |
| Preston – Bamber Bridge | Preston – Bamber Bridge |
| Northampton – Weedon Road | Northampton – Weedon Road |
| Gillingham – Hempstead Valley | Gillingham – Hempstead Valley |
| Southampton – Hedge End | Southampton – Hedge End |
| Bury St Edmunds | Bury St Edmunds |
| Thanet – Westwood Cross | Thanet – Westwood Cross |
| Colchester – Stanway | Colchester – Stanway |
| Bournemouth – Castlepoint | Bournemouth – Castlepoint |
| Isle of Wight | Isle of Wight |
| Keighley | Keighley |
| Swadlincote | Swadlincote |
| Leicester North | Leicester North |
| Wakefield – Marsh Way | Wakefield – Marsh Way |
| Torquay | Torquay |
| Waterlooville | Waterlooville |
| Macclesfield | Macclesfield |
| Harrogate | Harrogate |
| Cheadle | Cheadle |