Sainsbury’s to cut 3,000 jobs in continued ‘Next Level’ strategy

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced plans to reduce its headcount by over 3,000 roles, including a 20 percent reduction in senior management roles.

The move comes as part of its continued ‘Next Level’ strategy, a three-year initiative initially launched in 2023 with the mission of simplifying central divisions and management structure. At the crux of the strategy is the goal to refocus the supermarket on its core food ranges.

While ‘Next Level’ is said to be helping contribute to “strong momentum” in the business, aiding in its seven consecutive quarters of growth, Sainsbury’s is still vying for one billion pounds in operating cost savings, and as such, announced plans to reorganise certain departments, including those at its head office.

With this, the company said it wished to create fewer, bigger roles with “clearer accountabilities”, intending to “drive faster decision making and bring costs down”.

Among its central management structure, for example, there have already been shifts, including the appointment of Rhian Bartlett as chief commercial officer; Patrick Dunne as chief property and procurement officer; and Graham Biggart as MD Argos and chief strategy and supply officer.

In regards to the 3,000 jobs at risk, Sainsbury’s noted that it was talking to the impacted colleagues about what the changes will mean, and is exploring redeployment opportunities where possible.

In a release announcing the news, CEO Simon Roberts said that as the strategy comes into its second year, the company was facing a “particularly challenging cost environment”, meaning it has to make “tough choices” about investments.

Roberts continued: “The decisions we are announcing today are essential to ensure we continue to drive forward our momentum but have also meant some difficult choices impacting our dedicated colleagues in a number of parts of our business. We’ll be doing everything we can to support anyone impacted by today’s announcements.”