The number of store management positions will be reduced as the grocer puts a greater emphasis on customer-facing roles such as cashiers and shelf stackers, London-based Sainsbury said in a statement Thursday.
The supermarket chain will also change the way it restocks more than 100 stores, shifting staff away from night shifts to early morning and evening work.
Sainsbury’s job cuts come a day after larger competitor Tesco reported the biggest loss in its 96 year history. As budget chains Aldi and Lidl continue to win market share and more customers shop online and at convenience stores, grocers are adding shop-floor workers to improve customer service, while cutting back-office roles to save money.
“We have to reflect the changes in when and how our customers are shopping,” Roger Burnley, Sainsbury’s retail and operations director, said in the statement.
“These proposals will help us maintain and improve customer service by having more colleagues on hand and well-replenished shelves at all times.”
The job cuts and changes to shift work form part of a previously announced plan to save 500 million pounds over the next three years. Sainsbury said it will reduce the number of department managers and deputy managers in its stores, while offering existing shop floor staff more hours to increase the proportion of in store staff serving customers.
The grocer, which reports full-year results 6 May, had 107,000 staff at the end of its last financial year.
Despite dozens of store closures this year, Tesco has increased shop-floor staff, while Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc plans to recruit an additional 5,000 shop workers.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
