Sainsbury’s to cut 300 more jobs just weeks after announcing food-hall shake-up

Supermarket Sainsbury’s is to cut 300 roles across its support centres and outsource the roles instead. The plans affect staff at its central offices in Manchester, Holborn in London and Ansty in Warwickshire. Hundreds of staff working in food commercial, finance operations and people services and HR are in redundancy talks as Sainsbury’s outsources the roles to Accenture.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are focused on our plans to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s. “To achieve this, we are becoming a more simple, nimble and efficient business so that we can reinvest in what matters most to customers – low prices, exciting new products and convenient ways to shop. “We are talking to a small proportion of our store support centre colleagues about some changes we are proposing to the way we work.

“Colleagues affected will enter into a consultation process and we are supporting them through this in any way we can. Are you a Sainsbury’s worker affected by the changes? Get in touch: [email protected]

Some of the roles affected are at Sainsbury’s head office in Holborn (Getty Images)

“This includes exploring alternative roles within Sainsbury’s, as well as providing independent support with job opportunities elsewhere as part of a redundancy package which far exceeds statutory requirements.”

Last month The Mirror reported Sainsbury’s is to close 200 of its in-store cafes this month, in a move that puts 2,000 jobs at risk. The huge shake-up means just 67 cafes will remain open while the supermarket reviews its roll-out plans. The supermarket has already closed its fresh fish, cheese and meat counters in stores alongside Argos closures, which saw around 3,500 jobs cut.

Sainsbury’s will also “simplify” the way it runs its bakery counters in 54 stores from next month as well, as part of the huge shake-up. The measures are part of a wider transformation of the grocer’s food hub. The new concept, named The Restaurant Hub, is already underway at its Selly Oak store in Birmingham.

It means many Sainsbury’s cafes across the UK will be replaced with chains such as Starbucks and Gourmet Burger Kitchen in the coming months. Around 30 more Starbucks coffee shops will open in stores over the next year, a statement said. Sainsbury’s already cut 1,150 jobs under a restructuring last March.

The move affected 500 workers across commercial operations, HR, supply chain and logistics, technology, general merchandise and TU clothing. Meanwhile, the chain’s head office in Holborn, central London, had its space reduced by two floors. The restructuring included the closure of its online fulfilment centre in Bromley-by-Bow, east London – affecting another 650 roles.

The cuts followed Sainsbury’s trimming 3,500 jobs in November 2020.

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