Greggs to resume store opening programme in bid to reduce job losses

Baked goods retailer Greggs has announced plans to resume its new store opening programme as the government’s furlough scheme winds down.

The company plans to open a further net 20 shops by the end of the year, offering reduced hours to staff in an attempt to mitigate job losses as a result of the financial impact of COVID-19 on the business.

Greggs, which has strengthened its online offering since the beginning of the pandemic, has seen like-for-like sales increase to 76.1 per cent of 2019 levels in the four weeks to September 26.

In a statement this morning, Greggs commented: “Our teams have worked hard to deliver high operational standards in a challenging and volatile environment. We saw activity levels increase as we came into September, following a more challenging month in August.

“Recent trading experience under these conditions has also allowed us to reactivate our new shop opening programme, something that should help mitigate job losses in the current employee consultation as well as positioning us for long-term growth in target locations.”

“With business activity levels remaining below normal for the foreseeable future we must change the way we work to be as productive and flexible as we can in order to protect as many jobs as possible for the long term.

“Our aim is to minimise the risk of job losses by negotiating reduced hours in our shops and we will update on the outcome of the consultation when concluded.”

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