Sainsbury's to axe 3000 jobs as they announce major changes to NI stores

Sainsbury's is set to slash over 3,000 jobs and shut down its in-store cafes alongside removing its pizza and hot food counters. Aiming to "simplify the business" amidst a brutal cost climate, the supermarket behemoth outlined that the job cuts would affect roughly 2% of its 148,000-strong workforce.

This sweeping move will not only impact shop-floor staff but also includes a cull of 20% of senior managerial positions as part of a significant overhaul at its head office. While Sainsbury's has been targeting savings of £1 billion in the upcoming years, insiders at the PA news agency suggest that the axing of senior roles is also partly driven by the recent hike in company national insurance contributions (NICs), announced in October's Budget.

While the company have already scrapped their Northern Irish cafes,. eight of the supermarket's stores in Northern Ireland are set to be affected by the changes. Among those set to lose their hot food and pizza counters are: Ballymena; Bangor; Coleraine; Derry; Forestside; Holywood Exchange; Kennedy Centre and Sprucefield.

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Following these developments, a spokesperson from Downing Street remarked that the "difficult decisions" made in the Budget were laying the groundwork for economic growth even as Sainsbury’s later said that Budget changes would lead to an added burden of £140 million in costs by late 2024. Chief executive Simon Roberts has hinted at impending "tough choices".

These austerity measures come on the heels of Sainsbury’s revealing their record-breaking Christmas sales and projecting profits around £1 billion. The grocery chain has also decided to shutter all 61 of its remaining Sainsbury’s Cafes due to underuse by customers, along with its remaining patisserie, hot food, and pizza counters in stores, opting to stock the most popular items directly on the shop floor instead.

Mr Roberts from Sainsbury’s has acknowledged the company is "facing into a particularly challenging cost environment which means we have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest". He further stated: "The decisions we are announcing today are essential to ensure we continue to drive forward our momentum but have also meant some difficult choices impacting our dedicated colleagues in a number of parts of our business."

"We’ll be doing everything we can to support anyone impacted by today’s announcements."

Earlier in January, Sainsbury’s announced it would increase staff pay by 5% in 2025 to assist workers during a "particularly tough cost inflation environment".

However, the supermarket chain is also aiming to slash costs by £1 billion over the next few years, and in 2024, it reduced its workforce by approximately 1,500 positions. The forthcoming job cuts will involve the company seeking "explore redeployment opportunities where this is possible" for those affected.

Unite, the union representing over 7,000 Sainsbury’s employees, has attributed the cutbacks to "corporate greed", citing the retailer's substantial profits in recent times. Bally Auluk, national officer of the shop workers union Usdaw, commented that they will be "working hard to ensure our members are supported throughout the process and as many people as possible remain in employment with the company".

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