Morrisons is closing 17 stores over the next few weeks in a major shake-up to.
It’s part of the supermarket chain’s plans that include closing 52 café, and 100 other in-store services like 12 florists and four pharmacies.
The cutbacks even extend to 35 meat counters and 35 fish counters, putting 396 Morrisons employees’ jobs on the line.
The supermarket chain has since confirmed the dates of the closures, with 16 closing April 16 and and one shutting May 14.
Most of workers affected will be deployed elsewhere in the company, Morrisons claims.
Store closures have been devastating British highstreets and even some of the nation’s much-loved and biggest brands.
From a 160-year-old toy shop in Dudley, to WH Smith across the country, they’re vanishing in their droves. Nearly 13,000 shops closed last year.
Which Morrisons stores are closing?
The 17 store closures are all Morrisons Daily stores, which are smaller stores with extended hours, focused on local convenience.
Morrisons Dailys in Birmingham, Bath and Woking are among those to be closed.
The supermarket chain employs 95,000 people alongside its 1600 Morrisons Dailys and 500 supermarkets.
In-store cafes will be shut in five London stores, with cafes in Leeds, Portsmouth and Glasgow also affected.
Full list of 17 Morrisons Dailys to close
Gorleston Lowestoft Road – April 16
Shenfield 214 Hutton Road – April 16
Peebles 3-5 Old Town – April 16
Poole Waterloo Estate – April 16
Tonbridge Higham Lane Est – April 16
Romsey The Cornmarket – April 16
Stewarton Lainshaw Street – April 16
Selsdon Featherbed Lane – April 16
Haxby Village – May 14
Great Barr Queslett R – April 16
Whickham Oakfield Road – April 16
Worle – April 16
Goring-By-Sea Strand Para – April 16
Woking Westfield Road – April 16
Wokingham 40 Peach Street – April 16
Exeter 51 Sidwell Street – April 16
Bath Moorland Road – April 16
Fifty two of Morrisons’ 397 cafes are on the list of in-store services to be axed.
The four crucial pharmacies to be wound up are those in the Bradford Victoria, Blackburn Railway Road, London Wood Green and Birmingham Small Heath branches.
Morrisons said these closures are a reaction to ‘significant cost increases’.
The 174 store, counter and services cut were viewed as the least useful or valuable for customers.
Rami Baitiéh, Chief Executive of Morrisons, said: ‘The changes we are announcing today are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth.
‘Morrisons Cafés are rightly famous for their great quality well-priced food, their place in the local community and their appealing mix of traditional favourites alongside exciting new dishes.
‘In most locations, the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.
‘Market Street is a beacon of differentiation for Morrisons and we remain committed to it.
‘But as we modernise we are making some necessary changes to the areas of the model which are simply uneconomic.
‘In some stores where we are closing counters or Cafés, we plan to work with third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer.
‘Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues.
‘We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes.’
Full list of 52 Morrisons cafes to close
Bradford Thornbury – West Yorkshire
Paisley Falside Rd – Renfrewshire, Scotland
London Queensbury – Greater London
Portsmouth – Hampshire
Great Park – Tyne and Wear
Banchory North Deeside Rd – Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Failsworth Poplar Street – Greater Manchester
Blackburn Railway Road – Lancashire
Leeds Swinnow Rd – West Yorkshire
London Wood Green – Greater London
Kirkham Poulton St – Lancashire
Lutterworth Bitteswell Rd – Leicestershire
Stirchley – West Midlands
Leeds Horsforth – West Yorkshire
London Erith – Greater London
Crowborough – East Sussex
Bellshill John St – North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Dumbarton Glasgow Rd – West Dunbartonshire, Scotland
East Kilbride Lindsayfield – South Lanarkshire, Scotland
East Kilbride Stewartfield – South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Glasgow Newlands – Glasgow, Scotland
Largs Irvine Rd – North Ayrshire, Scotland
Troon Academy St – South Ayrshire, Scotland
Wishaw Kirk Rd – North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Newcastle upon Tyne Cowgate – Tyne and Wear
Northampton Kettering Road – Northamptonshire
Bromsgrove Buntsford Ind Pk – Worcestershire
Solihull Warwick Rd – West Midlands
Brecon Free St – Powys, Wales
Caernarfon North Rd – Gwynedd, Wales
Hadleigh – Suffolk
Harrow, Hatch End – Greater London
High Wycombe Temple End – Buckinghamshire
Leighton Buzzard Lake St – Bedfordshire
London Stratford – Greater London
Sidcup Westwood Lane – Greater London
Welwyn Garden City Black Fan Rd – Hertfordshire
Warminster Weymouth St – Wiltshire
Oxted Station Yard – Surrey
Reigate Bell St – Surrey
Borehamwood – Hertfordshire
Weybridge, Monument Hill – Surrey
Bathgate – West Lothian, Scotland
Erskine Bridgewater SC – Renfrewshire, Scotland
Gorleston Blackwell Road – Norfolk
Connah’s Quay – Flintshire, Wales
Mansfield Woodhouse – Nottinghamshire
Elland – West Yorkshire
Gloucester – Metz Way – Gloucestershire
Watford – Ascot Road – Hertfordshire
Littlehampton – Wick – West Sussex
Helensburgh – Argyll and Bute, Scotland
– Morrisons Daily convenience stores
Gorleston Lowestoft Road – Norfolk
Peebles 3-5 Old Town – Scottish Borders, Scotland
Shenfield 214 Hutton Road – Essex
Poole Waterloo Estate – Dorset
Tonbridge Higham Lane Est – Kent
Romsey The Cornmarket – Hampshire
Stewarton Lainshaw Street – East Ayrshire, Scotland
Selsdon Featherbed Lane – Greater London
Haxby Village – North Yorkshire
Great Barr Queslett Rd – West Midlands
Whickham Oakfield Road – Tyne and Wear
Worle – Somerset
Goring-By-Sea Strand Parade – West Sussex
Woking Westfield Road – Surrey
Wokingham 40 Peach Street – Berkshire
Exeter 51 Sidwell Street – Devon
Bath Moorland Road – Somerset
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