Co-op is to make around 400 of its roles redundant.

The grocer said it expects the stated amount of redundancies when closed vacancies, redeployment, and creation of new roles as part of this process, are taken into account.

Co-op’s total colleague population stands at 63,000 and an additional 4,000 support centre colleagues. It said that dedicated welfare support would be provided for all impacted colleagues.

Commenting on the decision, a spokesperson for Co-op said: “At our last set of annual results, we shared that as part of our strategy, making our Co-op more efficient and cost-effective was a priority.

“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.

“These changes, designed to simplify our approach to business, will sadly mean a number of colleagues in central functions will leave the business. There are no changes to customer-facing roles in our food stores & funeral homes and, where possible, we will reduce roles by not filling vacancies and through preferences to exit.”

They added: “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.”

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