Sainsbury’s is to cut around 1,500 roles as it starts to unroll its plan to save around £1 billion of costs.
The grocer flagged its cost savings target in a strategy update on 7 February without giving any details, but today said the cuts would be at its contact centre in Widnes, in-store bakeries and local fulfilment centres.
“As we move into the next phase of our strategy, we are making some difficult, but necessary decisions,” chief executive Simon Roberts said.
“I know today’s news is unsettling for affected colleagues and we will do everything we can to support them.”
At Widnes, most of the staff will be outsourced to a partner company while the bakery restructuring will involve a move “to a more efficient way of freshly baking products”, said the statement, while technology and automation means it needs fewer fulfilment centres.
Roberts said: “The proposals we’ve been talking to teams about today are important to ensure we’re better set up to focus on the things that create a real impact for our customers, delivering good food for all of us and building a platform for growth.”