16th Apr 2015 14:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Thursday said it will recruit 5,000 in-store staff and cut up to 720 roles at its head office, as part of its plan to reshape the way the business is staffed.
The grocer said it will invest in new store jobs to deliver better customer service, increase availability and open more checkouts, and said it has already begun the recruitment process.
The company is beginning a consultation about a simplified management structure, leading to a reduction in head office roles.
The number of people employed in head office has increased by 50% since 2008, and last month new Chief Executive David Potts axed five senior managers in his second week in charge. These included Nick Collard, the customer marketing and digital director, Martyn Fletcher, the retail director, Gordon Mowat, the property and strategy director, Neal Austin, the logistics director, and Nigel Robertson, the head of the convenience business.
?We are focusing on the things that matter to our customers. That means having more of our staff in our stores, improving product availability and helping customers at our checkouts. We believe our customers and our staff will appreciate the improvements," Potts said.
?To support this, we need a simpler, faster and cost-conscious Head Office and that requires some tough but necessary decisions,? he added.
Potts joined Morrisons as CEO in March, taking over from Dalton Philips who was ousted in January following a weak Christmas sales period.
The supermarket said staff members whose role is being made redundant will be offered a role in a Morrisons store and some will be redeployed in other parts of the business. It will also be offering opportunities for voluntary redundancy.
Shares in Morrisons were trading down 1.3% at 201.00 pence Thursday afternoon.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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