Morrisons has confirmed it axed 3,600 jobs and closed 17 stores as part of sweeping restructuring plans, despite the supermarket chain returning to profit for the first time since its controversial private equity takeover.
The Bradford-based retailer reduced its workforce from 104,819 to 101,144 over the last financial year, with job cuts hitting in-store staff, distribution centres, head office employees and manufacturing workers.
The mass redundancies come as Morrisons posted a pre-tax profit of £2.1 billion for the year ending 27 October 2024, marking a dramatic turnaround from losses of £919 million in 2023 and £1.3 billion in 2022.
Store staff bore the brunt of the cuts, with numbers falling from 88,258 to 85,508. Manufacturing roles dropped from 7,865 to 7,612, whilst distribution staff declined from 5,783 to 5,424. Head office employees were reduced from 2,913 to 2,600.
The job losses follow an even larger cull of 8,854 positions the previous year, meaning the supermarket has shed more than 12,000 roles in just two years under its American private equity owners Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).
Despite returning to profitability, Morrisons‘ revenue declined from £18.3 billion to £17 billion in the latest financial year, though the company reported improved trading with second-quarter like-for-like sales up 3.9 per cent.
Chief executive Rami Baitiéh acknowledged the challenging environment, stating: “Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment, with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers’ minds.
“Throughout the first half we’ve worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty,” he added.
The 17 store closures, which all took place on 16 April except for the Haxby Village location which shut on 14 May, affected Morrisons Daily convenience stores across England and Scotland. The closures spanned from Exeter in the Southwest to Peebles in Scotland.
Financial documents reveal that Morrisons needed to slash costs due to mounting financial pressure following consecutive years of heavy losses. The supermarket attributed much of its return to profit to the £2.5 billion sale of 337 petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group earlier this year.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 7.2 per cent in the first half to £344 million, suggesting the core business is showing signs of recovery despite the workforce reductions.
The job cuts form part of a broader restructuring programme that has also seen Morrisons close over 50 cafés, putting an additional 365 jobs at risk, along with 35 meat and fish counters and 18 Market Kitchen food courts.
Morrisons’ struggles reflect wider challenges across the UK retail sector. Research from PwC found that 12,804 shops belonging to multiples and chains exited UK high streets, shopping centres and retail parks in 2024, equivalent to 35 closures per day.
Other major supermarket chains have also implemented significant job cuts, with Sainsbury’s announcing 3,000 redundancies and Aldi confirming up to 350 head office positions would be axed as retailers battle rising costs and changing shopping habits.
The supermarket has faced particular pressure since losing its position as one of Britain’s “big four” grocers in September 2022, when German discounter Aldi overtook it to become the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket by market share.
Morrisons currently holds an 8.6 per cent share of the UK grocery market, trailing behind Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi, according to the latest data from retail analyst Kantar.
The company’s debt burden has ballooned since the £7 billion private equity takeover in October 2021, rising from £3.2 billion before the acquisition to £8.6 billion, with high interest payments contributing significantly to recent losses.
Despite the challenges, company officials emphasised their multi-year cost savings programme has delivered £612 million since beginning in 2023, with £312 million of savings achieved in the latest financial year alone.
Jacqueline Windsor, head of Retail at PwC UK, offered a cautiously optimistic view of the sector: “Our latest Store Openings and Closures insights indicate a cautious optimism for the retail sector. This creates opportunities for stakeholders to seize momentum and unlock growth by tackling market challenges and capitalising on evolving consumer behaviours.”
The reduction in headcount was described by Morrisons as being “largely achieved by natural wastage,” though the scale of job losses alongside store closures paints a picture of a business undergoing radical transformation to remain competitive.
Here is the full list of the 17 Morrisons store closures:
- Gorleston Lowestoft Road – April 16
- Shenfield 214 Hutton Road – April 16
- Peebles 3-5 Old Town – April 16
- Poole Waterloo Estate – April 16
- Tonbridge Higham Lane Est – April 16
- Romsey The Cornmarket – April 16
- Stewarton Lainshaw Street – April 16
- Selsdon Featherbed Lane – April 16
- Great Barr Queslett R – April 16
- Whickham Oakfield Road – April 16
- Worle – April 16
- Goring-By-Sea Strand Para – April 16
- Woking Westfield Road – April 16
- Wokingham 40 Peach Street – April 16
- Exeter 51 Sidwell Street – April 16
- Bath Moorland Road – April 16
- Haxby Village – May 14
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Image Credit: This is a licensed photograph:
- Morrisons since 1899 (Whitehaven, Cumbria) – English description: Morrisons since 1899 – geograph.org.uk – 5802258.jpg, photograph by Russel Wills, taken at 16:34 GMT on 7 June 2018 in Whitehaven, Cumbria, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution‑ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY‑SA 2.0)
