Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced a major restructuring of its convenience and general merchandise operations, putting more than 100 head office roles at risk of redundancy.
The changes will primarily affect teams connected to the retailer’s Morrisons Daily business, as the company moves to merge its convenience division with its wider supermarket trading operations.
READ MORE: Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons can get ‘free £30’
READ MORE: I tried store scones from M&S, Lidl and more to see which were the tastiest
Under the proposals, Morrisons’ convenience buying and commercial teams will be absorbed into a single central trading structure. The move effectively eliminates the standalone convenience buying team as part of a wider effort to simplify operations.
Convenience stores will now fall under the retailer’s retail division, led by group retail director Martin Dawson, while buying and commercial responsibilities will shift to a central team overseen by group trading director Andrew Staniland, according to The Grocer.
A Morrisons spokesperson said the changes were designed to improve how the company operates across its different retail formats.
“To enable us to deliver a truly multichannel shopping experience for Morrisons customers, we are proposing to integrate the operation of our supermarkets and company-owned convenience stores and support office functions into a single team structure,” the spokesperson said.
“The plans will allow us to leverage the existing skills and expertise we have in the business, remove duplication, simplify our store operations and capture efficiencies.”
*** Ensure our latest news headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***
The supermarket confirmed that more than 100 roles will be placed at risk of redundancy, with the majority believed to be within the convenience division.
“We understand this will be difficult news for colleagues affected and will be offering them our full support, including helping them to find alternative roles elsewhere in the business wherever we can,” the spokesperson added.
The restructuring follows the departure of former group convenience and wholesale director Matt Heslop in February, less than a year after he joined the company.
Separately, Morrisons has also confirmed plans to relocate support functions for its general merchandise division from its headquarters at Hilmore House in Bradford to a new office in Warrington.
The retailer said moving the team to the northwest would place the division closer to a number of key suppliers in the region. When the new site opens later this year, all existing general merchandise functions based in Bradford will close.
The shake-up forms part of a broader turnaround strategy led by chief executive Rami Baitiéh, who has been implementing cost-cutting measures while pushing for expansion in convenience retail.
Convenience stores are a major focus of the strategy, with Morrisons planning a significant rollout of new outlets. The company has said it aims to open up to 300 new Morrisons Daily stores each year under a mix of company-owned and franchise models.
The supermarket currently operates around 1,820 Morrisons Daily stores, roughly half of which are franchise-owned.
