The in-store café in York’s biggest Sainsbury’s store is to close, the retailer announced today.
It is cutting more than 3,000 jobs and all its cafés as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
The headcount reduction represents about 2% of the company’s current 148,000-strong workforce.
It will close its remaining 61 Sainsbury’s Cafes, subject to consultation.
The majority of Sainsbury’s shoppers do not use the cafes regularly, whereas in-store food halls and concessions have grown in popularity, it said.
Cafés at the Harrogate and Scarborough stores will also go.
Sainsbury’s said it will also close its remaining patisserie, hot food and pizza counters in-store and make the most popular items available in the aisles instead.
The closure at Monks Cross Sainsbury’s comes soon after the Sainsbury’s store at Foss Bank shut completely. That was due to its lease not being renewed.
Nationally, about 20% of senior management roles will be cut at the supermarket giant as part of plans to focus on fewer, bigger roles and to simplify its head office and management teams.
Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said the supermarket was facing a “particularly challenging cost environment” as it moves forward with its company strategy.
He said: “As we accelerate into year two and beyond of our strategy, we are facing into a particularly challenging cost environment which means we have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective.
“The decisions we are announcing today are essential to ensure we continue to drive forward our momentum but have also meant some difficult choices impacting our dedicated colleagues in a number of parts of our business.
“We’ll be doing everything we can to support anyone impacted by today’s announcements.”
The cuts come after Sainsbury’s announced its “biggest ever” Christmas trading period and said profit for the full-year would likely be between £1.01 billion and £1.06 billion earlier in January.
The latest job cuts will see the company “explore redeployment opportunities where this is possible” for people affected.
