A severe migrant labour shortage means distribution centres will struggle to keep up with demand after Brexit, according to the boss of a recruitment consultancy in the sector.
Wayne Brophy, managing director of Cast UK, said there was an across-the-board labour shortage in supply chain, logistics and warehouses, of both skilled and unskilled workers.
Uncertainty over their status after Brexit had prompted migrant workers to seek employment in alternative EU member states, according to Brophy. “It’s much easier to go to an economy like Germany or France, or equally Poland and Hungary.”
Cast UK recruits skilled and managerial staff, serving over 500 clients a year including logistics companies contracted by major supermarkets. Brophy said the number of applications received per vacancy had dropped from 27 three years ago to seven, and the decline had accelerated as Brexit approached.
Fresh food’s labour shortage reaching a ‘tipping point’
He said Cast UK’s clients were also reporting shortages of unskilled workers. “We are hearing from [retail and fmcg] customers that the lack of unskilled workers is having a huge impact. They’re all quite fearful of what the big peaks will be like – Christmas and Black Friday and subsequent sales.”
Online retailers could be unable to meet demand for Black Friday deals, just a month after the 31 October Brexit deadline for Britain to leave the EU, Brophy said. “That’s the one retailers and suppliers are not sure how to plan for.”
The migrant labour exodus could also make it more difficult for supermarkets to keep shelves stocked amid any product shortages after Brexit. “If you’ve not got the people managing the processes, that could quite conceivably happen.”
No comments yet