Sainsbury’s to cut 1,500 roles in restructure

Sainsbury’s has announced it will cut around 1,500 jobs as part of an ongoing restructure.

The supermarket said it was consulting with affected employees about the proposals, which are part of its ‘Save and invest to win’ programme. The cuts will mostly impact its contact centre in Cheshire, in-store bakeries and some local fulfilment centres.

The company said some staff will be redeployed, and the savings will be invested back into the business.

The running of its Widnes contact centre and Careline services will be transferred to a third party, with the “vast majority” of staff being transferred to the partner company, described as “a major employer” that offers “a range of career and redeployment opportunities”.

Sainsbury’s will also consolidate its merchandise distribution network, making changes to how it moves stock in some locations and reducing the number of local fulfilment centres. This will put “a very small proportion” of colleagues’ roles at risk, it said.

Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said the restructure would allow it to deliver “outstanding value” to customers.

“As we move into the next phase of our strategy, we are making some difficult, but necessary decisions,” he 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.

“I know today’s news is unsettling for affected colleagues and we will do everything we can to support them.”

Sainsbury’s last announced job losses in 2021 when it restructured some head office operations and closed an online delivery warehouse in London.

Last month, Sainsbury’s announced a substantial pay rise for supermarket workers, increasing minimum pay to employees outside London to £12 per hour.

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