Member Article

40 potential job losses at Co-op’s Birtley depot

Around 40 jobs are in danger at The Co-operative Group’s Birtley depot in County Durham, the firm say.

As part of restructuring and cost-cutting excercise across its logistics division, the retailer has also consulted with employees over plans to close a facility in Cambridgeshire.

The company’s Birtley operations employs 462 people.

A spokesperson for The Co-operative Food said: “In order to drive efficiencies and deliver a cost-effective quality service to our stores and customers, we are proposing transferring the handling of around 40,000 cases per week from our Birtley depot to our Castlewood depot.

“As a result, the warehouse night shift at Birtley would no longer be required, and the number of drivers needed at Birtley would also be reduced.

“Changes to the leadership structures in all our depots, including Birtley, are also being proposed to improve our ways of working, deliver further savings and ensure consistency across our distribution network.

“Some roles, responsibilities and job titles would change, with a number of roles no longer existing in the proposed new structure and a number of new roles being created. We are now in discussions with colleagues to discuss how any changes may be implemented.”

The Co-op said any workers affected by the proposed changes would be given support to find an alternative role within the company, or with another employer.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .