Waitrose employees warn that jobs are at risk during major renovations

The supermarket chain has told some employees that they will need to shift shifts to keep the salesrooms well stocked during the busiest hours. Photo: Peter Ciborra

Waitrose employees have been warned that jobs are at risk as the retailer overhauls its business to boost productivity.

Tina Mitchell, Waitrose's director of retail, allegedly warned employees that efforts to streamline a loss-making grocer «could result in some partners leaving the business.»

Waitrose is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, which refers to all employees as partners because they jointly own the business and traditionally receive a share of the profits in the form of an annual bonus.

She also said that some may have to make «sacrifices and compromises,» in a staff video seen by the Financial Times.

Ms Mitchell said: «Unless we change the way we work, there is a real danger that the partnership will not exist in the form we want it to be in the future.”

The supermarket chain has told some employees that they will have to change shifts to ensure they have adequate staff on the sales floor during their busiest hours. once.

A spokesperson for Waitrose stated: “[We] are asking some partners in our stores to change their opening hours and are suggesting that night shifts be discontinued in a small number of stores. We do not take this lightly and we will support our partners during any changes.”

Waitrose reportedly expects to save £50m annually by changing work patterns to ensure employees are «doing the right tasks at the right time.»

The overhaul comes after Dame Sharon White, The chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, in March, canceled the partnership bonus and warned of job cuts after annual losses rose to £234m from £27m the previous year.

The company recently appointed Will Kernan, a former River Island chief executive and retail recovery expert, to help save £600m on top of the £300m already put out of business over the past two years.

The John Lewis Partnership, Britain's largest employee-owned company, aims to raise £873m in group savings by January 2026 to improve business and restore profits.

Meanwhile Waitrose is aiming to regain lost market share, which fell to 4.4% in the 12 weeks to August, according to Kantar.

In February, Waitrose announced plans to slash the prices of hundreds of essentials, including bread, pasta, vegetables and flour, to stop cash-strapped middle-class shoppers from switching to competing retailers.

< p> >This is one of the traditional supermarkets involved in a fierce price war with German discounters Aldi and Lidl, which attracted 800,000 new customers between July and August.