Sainsbury's to cut over 3,000 jobs - with all cafes to close

Sainsbury's has revealed plans to cut more than 3,000 jobs.

Head office and senior management roles are among those affected, the chain said.

The major overhaul would also see the closure of its remaining 61 in-store cafes, which Sainsbury's said were no longer used "regularly" by the majority of customers, as well as hot food, patisserie, and pizza counters.

The supermarket said the move was a bid to save money in the face of a "challenging cost environment".

It had previously warned of consequences ahead due to a massive leap in costs from budget tax measures which will hit in a matter of weeks.

Money latest: Weather bomb's effect on wholesale electricity prices

Cafes are due to shut at the following locations:

Fosse Park, Leicestershire

Pontypridd, South Wales

Rustington, West Sussex

Scarborough, North Yorkshire

Penzance, Cornwall

Denton, Greater Manchester

Wrexham, North Wales

Longwater, Norwich, Norfolk

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Pontllanfraith, South Wales

Emersons Green, South Gloucestershire

Nantwich, Cheshire

Pinhoe Road, Exeter, Devon

Pepper Hill - Northfleet, Kent

Marshall Lake, Solihull, West Midlands

Rhyl, North Wales

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Bridgemead, Swindon, Wiltshire

Larkfield, Aylesford, Kent

Whitchurch Bargates, Shropshire

Sedlescombe Road, Hastings, East Sussex

Barnstaple, Devon

Dewsbury, West Yorkshire

Kings Lynn Hardwick, Norfolk

Truro, Cornwall

Warren Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk

Godalming, Surrey

Hereford, Herefordshire

Chichester, West Sussex

Bognor Regis, West Sussex

Newport, South Wales

Talbot Heath, Dorset

Rugby, Warwickshire

Cannock, Staffordshire

Leek, Staffordshire

Winterstoke Road, Bristol

Hazel Grove, Stockport, Greater Manchester

Morecambe, Lancashire

Darlington, County Durham

Monks Cross, Huntington, North Yorkshire

Marsh Mills, Plymouth, Devon

Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex

Durham, County Durham

Bamber Bridge, Lancashire

Weedon Road, Northampton, East Midlands

Hempstead Valley, Kent

Hedge End, Hampshire

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Thanet Westwood Cross, Kent

Stanway, Colchester, Essex

Castle Point, Essex

Isle of Wight

Keighley, West Yorkshire

Swadlincote, Derbyshire

Leicester North, East Midlands

Wakefield Marsh Way, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Torquay, Devon

Waterlooville, Hampshire

Macclesfield, Cheshire

Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Cheadle, Greater Manchester

Why is Sainsbury's doing this?

All the proposals, Sainsbury's said, were subject to consultation and marked an acceleration in its continuing Next Level strategy that ultimately aims to bolster its proposition and bottom line at the same time.

But chief executive Simon Roberts said of the plans: "We are facing into a particularly challenging cost environment which means we have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective.

"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."

The cuts were revealed despite the company's decision, a fortnight ago, to award inflation-busting pay rises to store workers across the business, which also includes Argos, this year.

That same day, Sainsbury's also revealed a leap in Christmas sales.

Mr Roberts is among business leaders to have publicly spoken out after October's budget put firms on the hook for the bulk of £40bn in tax increases.

He warned then that additional costs would be met with consequences, including higher prices for customers, as the chain did not have the "capacity to absorb" a "barrage of costs".

Read more from Sky News:
Primark woes underline the challenges facing retail
Reeves risks economic 'doom loop'

Sainsbury's, he explained, was facing an additional annual bill of £140m from April to cover the cost of additional employer national insurance contributions alone.

The company currently employs 148,000 people.

Industry bodies have widely warned that higher costs will choke investment and jobs - harming not only the economy but also the very working people the government says it has protected through its additional taxes on business and the wealthy.

The government has consistently argued that the budget tax hikes were a one-off to cover a gaping hole in Treasury coffers left by the previous administration - a claim the Conservatives have denied.

Unite union national officer for food, Paul Travers, said the announcement by Sainsbury's amounted to "corporate greed".

"This is a blatant example of profiteering on the backs of workers and then sticking the knife in.

"Sainsburys should be ashamed of themselves for taking this path. Unite will be fighting for our members' jobs during any consultation process and helping them through this difficult time," he concluded.

Asked how the government would respond to suggestions that layoffs at the supermarket were influenced by the budget, the prime minister's official spokesman said: "Growing the economy, backing businesses, putting more money in people's pockets are obviously the priority.

"It is only by growing the economy we can fund our public services and raise living standards.

"But as we said at the budget, difficult decisions were needed to restore economic stability, and put the public finances back on to a stable footing following the £22bn black hole, and that was a precursor to driving economic growth."

(c) Sky News 2025: Sainsbury's to cut over 3,000 jobs - with all cafes to close