As highlighted in our affiliated publication, The Grocer, Morrisons initiated discussions with its workforce earlier this week regarding potential store closures.
The shutdowns at Morrisons Daily are set to take place over the next few months, with the retailer attributing this decision to the government’s impact on rising operational costs.
The company has indicated its intention to assist affected employees by exploring opportunities within its retail and production sectors “where possible.” However, the exact number of positions facing redundancy has yet to be disclosed.
Chief Executive Rami Baitiéh had plans to establish hundreds of Morrisons Daily locations in the coming years, considering this format a key driver of the company’s growth.
Despite indications to the contrary, the supermarket maintained its commitment to, and progress with, its strategy for convenience store expansion.
These closures represent the most recent significant change to Morrisons’ convenience sector in the last three months.
In February, the company’s convenience director, Matt Heslop, departed unexpectedly after a tenure of less than a year.
His exit was succeeded by a significant restructuring of the convenience procurement team, where the commercial and support elements of Morrisons Daily were integrated with the supermarket buying division, creating a unified entity under group trading director Andrew Staniland.
These latest store closures follow a previous announcement from last year, which revealed plans to shut down 52 cafés and 17 convenience outlets.
Additionally, last month, the firm disclosed plans to eliminate up to 200 positions at its Bradford headquarters.