Sainsbury’s to remove around 500 office roles
Sainsbury’s has announced plans to remove around 500 office roles as it looks to create savings to invest in its core food business.
In a statement, the supermarket said the plans include rationalising office space and simplifying store support centre teams in commercial operations, human resources, supply chain and logistics, technology and general merchandise and clothing.
Sainsbury’s is reducing office space by one floor in its Manchester office and by two floors in its offices in Holborn and Milton Keynes. In addition, it will be closing part of its Beech office in Ansty and will close its Coventry office and Origin office in London. Staff based in these offices will be moved to existing Sainsbury’s sites which are being adapted to create more collaborative workspaces.
Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “Our new plan puts food first and will create a simpler, nimbler and more efficient business. The money we save will enable us to invest in what customers really care about – lower prices, exciting new products and the most convenient ways for them to shop. I know change is difficult, but to do the best job we can for our customers, it is vital that we adapt. I understand this will be a very difficult time for affected colleagues and we will do everything we can to fully support them.”
Sainsbury’s has also unveiled plans to further grow its online groceries business. By March 2022 over 20 stores in and around London will have their online departments expanded to enable the supermarket to deliver thousands more orders each week.
As a result of the investment in stores, staff at the supermarket’s online fulfilment centre in Bromley-by-Bow will be consulted on proposals to close the site in June. Sainsbury’s hopes to redeploy most of the 650 affected staff to neighbouring London stores to support expanded online departments.
Roberts added: “Thanks to the tremendous efforts of our colleagues, we have doubled our online capacity since this time last year and we can now serve over 850,000 customer orders every week. As customer demand changes, we need to be able to adapt quickly. Our investment in London stores will enable more customers in the capital to access more home delivery and click & collect slots, as well as a variety of great value delivery options, such as 4-hour saver slots for just £1.”
