The proposed changes include the closure of 52 cafés, all 18 market kitchens, 17 convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies.
Morrisons has said that the “significant majority” of staff employed in the services above will be redeployed elsewhere, but that around 365 people are now at risk of redundancy.
The retailer said that the changes come as it enters the second year of a “programme of renewal”, with the closures designed to accelerate growth, optimise operations and help mitigate cost increases.
The closures were decided on after Morrisons conducted a wide-ranging review, which review identified a number of areas where the costs of operations were “significantly out of line” with usage, volumes or the value that customers place on them.
“The changes we are announcing today are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth,” said Morrisons chief executive Rami Baitiéh.
“Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues. We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes.”
Commenting on the café closures in particular, he added: “Morrisons Cafés are rightly famous for their great quality well-priced food, their place in the local community and their appealing mix of traditional favourites alongside exciting new dishes. In most locations the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.
“Market Street is a beacon of differentiation for Morrisons and we remain committed to it. But as we modernise we are making some necessary changes to the areas of the model which are simply uneconomic. In some stores where we are closing counters or Cafés, we plan to work with third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer.”
