Morrisons, the supermarket giant, announced it will close 100 loss-making convenience stores, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. The closure plan is due to rising costs blamed on Labour and Government policy, affecting former McColl's shops that Morrisons rescued and integrated into its convenience stores.
Morrisons is planning to shut 100 loss-making convenience stores , placing hundreds of jobs at risk , as it blamed Labour for rising costs . The supermarket giant said it faces pressures that have been worsened by 'Government policy'.
The shops set for closure have been unprofitable for years and were former McColl's shops which the chain rescued in 2022, it said. The proposals will see stores closed in the next few months and hundreds of shop workers are understood to be at risk of redundancy. A spokesman for Morrisons said: 'The performance of all company owned stores across our convenience business is subject to continuous review.
'This process has identified a number of stores, which were part of the McColl's acquisition, whose performance has been challenged for a number of years and which are loss making, despite remedial action. 'This situation has been exacerbated in more recent years by significant cost increases resulting from Government policy choices, which have made returning these stores to profitability even more difficult.
'Having completed the review, we are now proposing to take the tough but necessary decision to close a number of these stores over the next few months. ' The supermarket giant said it faces pressures that have been worsened by 'Government policy' Bosses did not detail the specific Government policy choices which have hiked costs. But it comes at a time when many retailers have faced rising business costs including higher minimum wages and last year's National Insurance rate hike.
On April 1, the national minimum wage rose by 50p to £12.71 per hour, while the rate for those aged 18 to 20 increased by 85p to £10.85. Under 18s and apprentices are also now paid 45p more, or £8 per hour. Morrisons has around 1,700 convenience shops as well as 497 supermarkets, and employs some 95,000 staff. The stores affected by today's announcement were formerly owned by convenience chain McColl's.
Morrisons agreed to rescue the firm from administration in 2022, closing more than 130 of its outlets and converting the rest to Morrisons convenience stores. Alongside the fresh closure plans, Morrisons stressed that it was still spotting opportunities to open hundreds more franchise convenience stores in the years ahead. It also insisted that the planned closures and the targeting of new shops will be 'improving the quality of our convenience estate and making it stronger overall'.
Last month, Morrisons told staff it was launching a consultation over job cuts at its head office in Bradford, impacting less than 10 per cent of jobs at the site. Up to 200 people could be affected as part of an AI drive, staff were told. The retailer has also recently shut some of its cafes, convenience stores, florists and fresh food counters as part of a shake-up which led to the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Morrisons Closure Loss-Making Convenience Stores Jobs At Risk Rising Costs Labour Government Policy
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