700 jobs to go at Morrisons in Bradford as new boss wields axe

New Morrisons CEO David Potts wants leaner management

Staff were put on redundancy notice this morning and told that 720 jobs are to go from its head office at Hilmore House in Bradford.

But there is more general better jobs news across the country.

Morrisons is to recruit an extra 5,000 staff in stores as part of a plan to put more staff on the shop floor and have fewer people working in head office functions.

Morrisons said it needs to focus on what matters to customers - making sure that shelves are stacked and providing more staff at the checkout.

The group said it is reshaping the way that its business is staffed, investing in new store jobs to deliver better customer service, while also proposing a reduction in head office jobs. It began a consultation about a simplified management structure this morning.

The group pointed out that the number of head office staff has increased by 50 per cent since 2008.

Chief executive Mr Potts said: “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.

“To support this, we need a simpler, faster and cost-conscious head office and that requires some tough but necessary decisions.”

Last month Morrisons announced losses of £792m for the year to February 1. Like-for-like sales fell six per cent - the worst performance among the big four supermarkets.