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Morrisons to axe 1,600 jobs

10/01/2006

Supermarket chain Morrisons is to axe about 1,600 jobs in Kent and Bristol following the closure of two depots.

The UK's fourth-biggest food retailer said the sites at Aylesford and Bristol were surplus to requirements following the £3 billion acquisition of Safeway in March 2004, and the resultant review of its distribution network.

Morrisons warned in September that the depots, which employ 1,600 staff, were at risk.

"We are aiming to minimise redundancies as far as possible and will be talking about alternative roles within Morrisons," the Bradford-based grocer said in a statement yesterday.

Paul Kenny, acting general secretary of the GMB union, said the redundancies were a direct consequence of the Safeway takeover.

"We had to drag the management kicking and screaming to face up and deal with the consequences of the takeover," he said.

The supermarket group is keen to cutback its expenditure after posting its first loss in its 106-year history in October.

A depot in Warrington, Cheshire, closed in December with the loss of 700 jobs.

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