Around 30 staff could be made redundant as part of a major head office restructure at Southern Co-op.
The society has launched a review, which is expected to be completed by the end of November, that was responding to the impact of “changing market conditions and shifts in shopping behaviour”.
It also reflected the completion of a multi-year investment programme in its IT systems. The organisational changes will ensure that central operations continue to support evolving business needs in serving members and other customers, it said.
While there will be some newly created roles, bringing opportunities for some colleagues, Southern Co-op anticipates that when the review is finished, it will lead to around 30 “unavoidable” redundancies. There are a total of 240 roles operating at its central office.
It added that the roles in Southern Co-op’s 330 managed food, funeral and coffee branches will not be impacted.
“Sadly, a number of colleagues in our head office will leave the business following the review, and we will be working closely with them to guide them through the change,” said Southern Co-op CEO Mark Smith.
“Like other retailers, we must align our resources with the economic conditions and market changes we are seeing. By acting now, we can continue to place Southern Co-op as the option of choice for customers in our key markets.
“Making these changes and our continued investment in our trading businesses will position us for long-term success as we support business growth and greater efficiencies.”
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