AG Parfett & Son has made 64 redundancies across its six depots in a bid to ensure its long-term viability.

The largest number of cuts were among warehouse and checkout staff, where 33 positions were axed. Eight jobs have gone in the accounts team, which has now been centralised, and Parfetts' depot-level buying teams have been slimmed down from an average of four to three per depot.

The wholesaler has not, however, dispensed with depot-level buyers in favour of the centralised buying model common among its rivals.

"Our buyers are on the shop floor talking to customers and making them aware of our particular offerings," said MD David Grimes. "We believe that concept is what differentiates us from the competition a common complaint is that if they go elsewhere there's no one to talk to."

The final headcount reduction of 64 is slightly less than the 76 positions Parfetts had initially expected would go.

"As we went through the consultation process, we sense-checked certain things and felt that perhaps some of the efficiencies might be too ambitious in certain areas," Grimes said. He added that the company was pleased that 40 of the job losses came from voluntary redundancies.

Parfetts announced the redundancies in March when it told staff "the board's past acceptance of overstaffing in our depots is no longer appropriate or viable".

During the redundancy process Parfetts had "fantastic" sales, Grimes admitted, including the highest trading week in the company's history in the lead up to Easter.

"People were looking at that and saying 'why is this all going on?' but, at the end of the day, when we analysed the business, we felt there were areas where we were carrying more staff than we required," Grimes added. "You've got to make sure you're matching your staffing requirements to the need to service customers. We are still carrying higher staffing levels than our competitors. We haven't slashed things to the bone."

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