Sainsbury's warned that the war in the Middle East would impact customers and business, and profits could fall this year, according to the company. CEO Simon Roberts said there will be pressure on food prices due to the conflict's impact on energy prices, and called for government energy support for the food sector to offset inflationary pressures. Sainsbury's has not yet seen a significant change in shopper behavior following the conflict, Roberts said. The supermarket echoed Tesco's uncertainty about the war's impact on profit outlook.
Sainsbury's is restructuring its clothing team, resulting in some job losses and new roles, a spokesperson said. A final decision on the clothing team changes is expected in the coming weeks. The company could also axe up to 300 jobs as it overhauls its tech and head office teams across Sainsbury's and Argos, City AM reported. Sainsbury's is restructuring its technology and data unit into one team for Argos and two for Sainsbury's, the company said. The staff cuts include a restructure of the Argos delivery network, with possible hour cuts for drivers and redundancies for warehouse workers, according to The Grocer. However, Sainsbury's confirmed no jobs are at risk among Argos' delivery driver workforce. Sainsbury's employs around 140,000 people. In January last year, Sainsbury's announced it would cut 3,000 jobs and shut all remaining cafes.
The number of serious incidents on some of the key days of the week can be really concerning. It is the reason we have taken the stance we have, becoming the first retailer to roll out facial recognition to staff. In the stores where it has come in, we have seen a 46% reduction and 92% of offenders have not returned to stores.
Sainsbury's became the first retailer to roll out facial recognition to staff, leading to a 46% reduction in incidents and 92% of offenders not returning, Roberts said. He added that more police presence in stores would be welcome.
Broader retail job cuts are also underway. Tesco plans to trim 180 roles from head office staff, and Ocado Group will cut up to 1,000 staff to make £150m savings.
It would make the point that this issue is really serious, it really matters and it's really top of the agenda.
Customers use supermarkets and convenience stores differently, so we’re updating our structures to reflect that.