Morrison's will cut almost a third of the staff at its head office in Bradford, England as new Chief Executive Officer David Potts seeks to get a larger proportion of workers directly serving customers.
As many as 720 of about 2,300 headquarters roles will be axed, Morrison said Thursday in a statement, as Potts continues a series of sweeping changes since he joined a month ago. Those affected will be offered a store job as part of a plan to recruit an additional 5,000 shop workers, the company said.
Potts has stamped his authority on the struggling UK grocer, jettisoning almost half of the senior management team. He’s also ordered head-office staff to spend some time helping their colleagues on the shop floor, as part of an effort to reconnect with customers. Morrison has reported three consecutive years of declining like-for-like sales, hurt particularly by the incursion of discounters Aldi and Lidl.
“David Potts is not hanging around in reshaping the business,” John Kershaw, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said in a note. “The battle for the customer will be won in-store, not at head office, so we approve of the actions.”
Morrison employs about 117,000 people in total, and has boosted its head-office staff by about 50 percent since 2008. By adding cashiers and stock-keepers, the company is seeking to increase product availability and keep more checkouts open.
“We are focusing on the things that matter to our customers,” Potts said in the statement. “To support this, we need a simpler, faster and cost-conscious head office and that requires some tough, but necessary decisions.”
The grocer said it’s starting a 45-day consultation period with head office workers affected by the changes.
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
