Sainsbury's set to cut 3,000 jobs and close its cafes

A Sainsbury's supermarket
-Credit:Getty Images


Supermarket giant Sainsbury's is planning to cut more than 3,000 jobs and close its remaining in-store cafes as part of a major overhaul. The headcount reduction represents about 2% of the company’s current 148,000-strong workforce.

Two of the supermarket's cafes in North Wales - at Wrexham and Rhyl - are set to shut. About 20% of senior management roles will be cut at the supermarket giant as part of plans to focus on fewer, bigger roles and to simplify its head office and management teams. And the retailer also said it had decided to close its remaining 61 Sainsbury’s Cafes, subject to consultation, reports WalesOnline.

The majority of Sainsbury’s shoppers do not use the cafes regularly, whereas in-store food halls and concessions have grown in popularity, it said. The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here’s how to sign up

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Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said the supermarket was facing a “particularly challenging cost environment” as it moves forward with its company strategy. He said: “As we accelerate into year two and beyond of our strategy, we are facing into a particularly challenging cost environment which means we have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective.

“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.”