Lincolnshire Co-op has begun a consultation with staff over proposed job cuts as it seeks to create a sustainable business for the long term.
The society, which employs over 2,770 people and operates more than 200 trading sites in food, pharmacy, Post Offices, travel branches and funeral homes across Lincolnshire and surrounding counties, said it was making changes to the way the business operates as it navigated rising costs.
It said it was also putting a new focus on healthcare and housing and was “substantially investing” in technology to make the society more efficient.
As part of the changes, it recently began a consultation with 52 colleagues at its support centre in Lincoln about proposed changes to their roles.
The society said it had been working with union Usdaw and was able to minimise compulsory redundancies to fewer than 10.
Lincolnshire Co-op also runs a pharmacy warehouse in Lincoln, which employs 80 people. One part of its operations is to supply prescription medication to the co-op’s pharmacy branches.
The society has proposed moving the supply of prescription medication to existing third-party suppliers which already make deliveries to its pharmacies.
A collective consultation has started with 42 colleagues, on a proposal to remove 27 roles.
The society said it was working with Usdaw to explore “all options and mitigate compulsory redundancies”. No other areas of the warehouse are involved in this process, it added.
Lincolnshire Co-op has also made changes to its property portfolio to enable a “future investment focused on healthcare and housing”.
It transferred its part ownership of the Waterside Shopping Centre in Lincoln to its partner Wykeland Group in May. The businesses joint-acquired the shopping centre in June 2023.
Mosaic Digital Hub, the co-working space on Silver Street in Lincoln, has also been marketed for sale alongside the rest of the Thomas Parker House building. The society said it was looking for a new operator to develop the Mosaic facilities and the unused space in Thomas Parker House further.
The changes come as the society reported that economic conditions and significant rising costs had seen its turnover fall by 1.2% and its trading profit (EBITDA) reduce by 35% during the first six months of the society’s financial year.
CEO Alison Hands said the society was experiencing challenges that many other UK business were facing.
“Our costs continue to rise, including significant increases in the national living wage and National Insurance, and in the latest half-year financial results we reported that our turnover and trading profit are both down,” she said.
“However, we do have a strong balance sheet and reserves, as well as an investment plan which supports the growth of our business to ensure we are able to serve our communities for many, many years to come.
“This plan includes new technology such as electronic shelf-edge labels and self-checkouts in food stores, and improved IT systems across all our business areas. We’re also developing future areas of our business in healthcare and housing and the refocus of our property portfolio is part of that work.
“To enable us to achieve our plan, we also have to make sure we are managing our costs carefully, balancing profitability as well as alignment with our strategy and community purpose, and our future direction and growth.
“It does mean having to take difficult decisions, including reviewing our ways of working. These are processes that are never easy, and we’d like to thank our teams for their professionalism and support for each other during this time.”
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