Wm Morrison to close down 2 distribution centres; 1,600 to lose jobs |
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Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:00
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LONDON: Super market chain Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc. may close down at least two of its distribution centres, which may lead to some 1,600 job losses. The closure follows a review undertaken by the company in the wake of its acquisition of rival Safeway chain in 2004 for 3 billion pounds.
The troubled retailer had in the recent past issued several profit warnings and in September last said it is likely to close down the depots in Bristol and Kent. It had shut a depot in Warrington, Cheshire, in December, which led to a loss of 700 jobs.
The company said it will try to find jobs for the affected.
Wm Morrison, Britain's fourth-largest food retailer, had to sell more than 200 stores in order to comply with competition laws after the takeover of the Safeway stores. It posted its first loss in its 106-year-old business in October last year. It has some 150,000 employees on its rolls and manages a network of 360 stores and five distribution centres.
While the company claimed that trade union representatives had informed the company that they accepted the reasons for closure, acting general secretary of GMB union, Paul Kenny said the redundancies were a direct consequence of the takeover of Safeway.
The union said 175 women workers in South Shields, on Tyneside, were offered worse redundancy terms than male workers and it planned to file sex discrimination claims unless the women were paid the same as men.
The company is expected to come out with its Christmas sales details Wednesday.
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