The Co-op is scrapping 400 jobs at its head office in Manchester, citing soaring inflation and difficult trading conditions for its poor financial performance.
It follows an earlier announcement, in April, that the firm’s annual profits had been cut in half amid severe supply chain disruption and spiralling costs.
The Co-op, which also owns funeral and insurance services, employs more than 63,000 people nationally.
Other supermarkets have been grappling with sliding profits after a dream period of earnings caused by the pandemic. In June, Morrisons lamented a “very fragile and difficult consumer environment” as it reported a fall in sales over the previous three months.
Shoppers have increasingly turned to discounters Aldi and Lidl while the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, has also kept customers by holding the price of many key items across store.
Co-op’s new Chief Executive, Shirine Khoury-Haq, said it was “inevitable” some food price would increase this year. However, it would try to reduce any impact with similar initiatives to those adopted by Tesco and through adding 100 extra products to its budget range.
In a statement, the Co-op said: “We make these changes with a heavy heart, but it is the right thing to do for the long-term health of our Co-op and for all of our members.”
The company said none of its customer-facing roles in food stores or funeral homes will be impacted by the shake-up.
