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Co-op announces plans to cut 400 jobs at its HQ in Manchester
The group blamed its decision to cut jobs on a "tough trading environment".
Emily Sergeant -
22nd July 2022 
The Co-op has announced plans to cut 400 jobs, and has blamed a “tough trading environment” amid the rising cost of living crisis.
The group has confirmed that the majority of the job cuts will be made at its state-of-the-art headquarters at One Angel Square in Manchester city centre – where 4,000 employees are based – and it said it intends to do this through a mixture of redundancies and by not filling vacancies.
A spokesperson for the Co-op group said the decision to axe roles at its Manchester-based HQ had made “with a heavy heart”.
It blamed a “tough trading environment” as the reasoning behind the decision.
The announcement of job cuts comes after the company had warned in its last set of annual results that making the business “more efficient and cost-effective” was a “priority” going forward, and revealed that it had brought forward plans for “rationalisation”, with 2023 earmarked for this, according to The Business Desk.
The changes are “designed to simplify [the] business”, the Co-op spokesperson insisted.
Announcing the decision to axe roles, a spokesperson for the Co-op said: “The tough trading environment, including rising inflation, means we have taken the difficult decision to bring forward some of the changes we had planned for 2023.
Read more: Inflation hits new 40-year UK high of 9.4% amid cost of living crisis
“These changes will sadly mean a number of colleagues in central functions will leave the business, but there are no changes to customer-facing roles and, where possible, we will reduce roles by not filling vacancies and through preferences to exit.”
They concluded: “We make these changes with a heavy heart, but it is the right thing to do for the long-term health of our Co-op and for all of our members.”
Featured Image – The Co-op Group (via Flickr)
