Sainsbury’s announces closure of cafés as part of restructuring plans

Sainsbury’s has announced it has made the “difficult decision” to close its remaining 61 cafés.

The move comes as part of the retailer’s plans to accelerate into the second year of its three-year Next Level Strategy.

Stating the proposed closure of its cafés is a move to “simplify the business”, the closures are subject to consultation. The move involves plans to close remaining patisserie, hot food and pizza counters while making their most popular items available in the aisles.

“The majority of Sainsbury’s most loyal shoppers do not use the cafés regularly and cafés and food halls run by specialist partners are becoming more and more popular,” the retailer said.

Some 3000 members of staff will lose their jobs, including a 20% reduction of senior management roles.

Following the announcement, retail trade union, Usdaw said it would be entering into consultation talks with Sainsbury’s after the supermarket giant informed the union of its restructuring proposals.

“We understand this will be a worrying time for those affected,” said Bally Auluk, Usdaw national officer.

“Usdaw 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.

“In the meantime, we are providing our members with the support, advice and representation that they need. Any Usdaw member with concerns should contact their workplace union representative.”

CONSULTATION TALKS

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s said it was talking to colleagues affected about what the changes mean for them and were exploring redeployment opportunities where possible.

“This is in addition to providing a support package to those affected which exceeds statutory requirements while offering opportunities to receive tailored guidance for their future career options,” said the supermarket.

The move comes amidst a wider restructuring of the business, with updates also being made to its central management structures. They have also shared plans to create space to offer more of its fresh food ranges in more stores.

Sainsbury’s Chief Executive, Simon Roberts said the decisions announced were essential to driving forward their momentum, but added they had also meant “some difficult choices impacted 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,” he added.

“We launched our Next Level Strategy almost a year ago and are totally focused on making good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone, every day. As a result, we’re seeing real momentum across our business, with a best-ever value position, leading quality and increased market share.

“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.”