Morrisons, the UK supermarket giant, has announced a significant round of job cuts following the government’s October Budget. The Bradford-based chain plans to eliminate over 200 roles from its retail people team as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative.
This follows CEO Rami Baitiéh’s comments on the “avalanche of costs” businesses will face after the government’s October Budget, as reported by City AM.
Roles set for elimination at Morrisons include customer experience, employee engagement, recruitment, and payroll positions.
A spokesperson for Morrisons stated: “We have recently carried out a review of our people structure to ensure we are offering our stores and sites a timely and consistent service.”
They added: “We are therefore proposing to remove the roles of regional people manager, store people manager and case specialist from our structure, meaning colleagues in these roles are being placed at risk of redundancy.”
The new structure will consist of several central roles to directly support supermarkets, along with central HR support and additional employee relations roles. “Before any final decisions are taken, we will undertake a minimum 45 day consultation process,” the spokesperson said.
This news follows Sainsbury’s confirmation of plans to cut more than 3,000 roles as it prepares to close all remaining in-store cafes, reducing its current workforce by two per cent.
The move will also result in approximately 20 per cent of senior management roles at Sainsbury’s becoming redundant.
This initiative is part of the supermarket giant’s strategy to concentrate on fewer, larger roles and streamline its head office and management teams.
In November 2024, Asda also revealed job cuts and requested its staff to return to the office three days a week as part of its latest turnaround plan.
Earlier this month, Morrisons demonstrated its support for the farming community by endorsing its call for urgent reforms to inheritance tax policies on farms following Rachel Reeves’ October Budget.
In October, Reeves abolished the exemption for inheritance tax for farms and other agricultural assets valued over £1m. This implies that they will be subject to a 20 per cent levy starting April 2025.
A month later, the CEO of Morrisons advocated for a radical overhaul of the business rates system so it “genuinely levels the playing field” between high street retailers and online operators.
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Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
