680 jobs at risk as Morrisons announce more supermarket closures

Despite beating expectations and reporting an increase in sales over the Christmas period, Morrisons has announced that more stores will close.

Due to competition from budget retailers such as Lidl and Aldi, and the ongoing price wars between the UK’s ‘big four’ supermarkets, the Bradford-headquartered chain is to close seven of its stores and cut around 680 jobs.

Although it isn’t clear where the seven sites are located, it is believed that they are all unprofitable smaller stores, under 15,000 square feet.

These latest cuts follow on from Morrisons closing 11 stores back in September 2015, putting around 900 jobs at risk.

This announcement also occurred on the same day Morrisons reported 0.2% increase in like-for-like sales during the nine weeks ending on January 3rd.

The supermarket also claimed customers were beginning to return to its stores, with the like-for-like number of transactions up 1.3% over the Christmas period in its core supermarkets. In addition, online sales grew nearly 100% year-on-year.

David Potts, Chief Executive, said :“We are pleased with our improved trading performance over the Christmas period. While there is of course much more to do, we are making important progress in improving all aspects of the shopping trip, and our customers tell us they are pleased with the changes.

“In addition, we have made further progress in debt reduction, and our financial position is strong and getting stronger.”