Newport Morrisons store in doubt as jobs axed
Plans for a new Morrisons supermarket in Newport have been cast into fresh doubt after the embattled retailer prepared for a major management restructure that could cost thousands of jobs.
The retailer has already admitted it is "reviewing" its plans for the 33,000 sq ft Audley Avenue store, despite a judge's ruling giving it the right to build the shop.
Now it is set to reveal a management restructure in its stores, which could lead to as many as 2,000 job losses, suggesting in turn that the supermarket is drawing its general growth plans to a halt.
That leaves further doubt hanging over the future of the Audley Avenue. site
The move comes on the back of trials held in seven of its new stores, which have seen three slimmed-down management structures. It is likely to affect managers overseeing products such as fresh food or non-food across the chain's 500 stores, which include branches in Lawley, Donnington and Wellington.
Morrisons has so far declined to comment on the job cuts, which come in the wake of plans to cut 100 jobs at its warehouse in Wakefield, which is home to about 1,200 workers. It announced pre-tax losses of £176 million in the year to February 2. Other supermarkets have already addressed their own in-store management teams.
The struggling grocer was hit by a further shock this morning as its long-standing chairman Sir Ian Gibson buckled under the pressure of a long-term sales slide by announcing he will not seek re-election at the company's AGM next year.
