Wm Morrison recruits 5,000 staff but cuts 720 in head office

British supermarket chain Wm Morrison is hiring 5,000 shop floor staff to improve service and open more checkouts, even as it cuts 720 roles at its head office in Bradford.

David Potts, who became chief executive just a month ago, pledged to recruit thousands of staff and said that the supermarket group had begun a consultation about a "simplified management structure".

Morrison said that the number of people employed at its head office had swelled by 50 per cent since 2008.

"We are focusing on the things that matter to our customers," Mr Potts said. "That means having more of our staff in our stores, improving product availability and helping customers at our checkouts."

To support this initiative, Mr Potts said that Morrison needed a "simpler, faster and cost-conscious head office and that requires some tough but necessary decisions."

The latest moves are part of a strategy by Mr Potts, a former Tesco executive, to revive the chain which, like its rivals, has been struggling to increase sales in a market where more British shoppers are defecting to the German no-frills discounters Lidl and Aldi.

In March, Morrison reported a loss of almost £800m after the supermarket chain took a £1.27bn property writedown. The charge pushed the group into a loss of £792m in the year to February 1, compared with a £176m deficit in the year earlier.

People close to the situation said that over recent years, the number of staff in Morrison's stores had been falling while the proportion in head office had ballooned, making for a "top heavy" organisation.

As part of the overhaul, Morrison has moved to cut hundreds of expensive consultants, who were brought in to work on projects for former chief executive Dalton Philips, said people familiar with the situation.

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Morrison announced almost a year ago that it was shedding 2,600 store management jobs. None of the jobs cut last year would be reinstated as part of beefing up roles in stores, the people familiar with the situation said.

Mr Potts wasted no time as soon as he got through the door in March, parting company with a string of senior managers.

Earlier this week, Morrison said that Casper Meijer, trading director, was leaving the retailer, to spend more time with his family in the Netherlands.

Shares in Morrison closed down 1.18 per cent at 201.20p.

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