Morrisons cuts over 3,600 jobs as profit passes £2bn
Morrisons cut more than 3,600 jobs as it returned to profit for the first time since a private equity-backed takeover in 2021.
The Bradford-headquartered supermarket giant has posted a pre-tax profit of £2.1bn for the 12 months to 27 October, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed.
The profit comes after Morrisons made a pre-tax loss of £919m in the prior 12 months and £1.3bn in the year before that.
However, the supermarket chain reduced its headcount from 104,819 to 101,144 during its latest financial year.
Morrisons reduced its store staff numbers from 88,258 to 85,508 and manufacturing employees from 7,865 to 7,612.
The number of staff it employs in distribution fell from 5,783 to 5,424 while its head office staff reduced from 2,913 to 2,600.
The latest job losses come after Morrisons shed more than 8,800 roles in the year before.
The new results also show that the chain’s revenue declined in the year from £18.3bn to £17bn.
Morrisons was bought by US private equity investor Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in October 2021.
Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi and Sainsbury’s cut jobs
The results come after Morning Wire reported in June that Morrisons had posted an increase in sales for the second quarter of its current financial year.
Like-for-like sales rose 3.9 per cent in the second quarter while total sales grew 4.2 per cent to £3.9bn.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 7.2 per cent in the first half of the year to £344m.
Speaking at the time, chief executive Rami Baitiéh said: “Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment, with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers’ minds.
“Throughout the first half we’ve worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty.”
The supermarket chain closed more than 50 of its cafes earlier this year as part of its cost-saving plans, putting a further 365 jobs at risk.
In March, Morrisons also announced an uptick in sales for its first quarter.
Morrisons is not the only UK supermarket chain to be cutting jobs.
In February, Aldi confirmed it was to cut up to 350 roles at its UK headquarters in Atherstone, near Birmingham.
Tesco and Sainbury’s have also shed roles in the wake of last October’s Budget.
In January, Sainsbury’s announced that it would axe 3,000 jobs and close all in-store cafes, while Tesco cut 400 roles in an attempt to “simplify” the business.