The news of Sainsbury’s laying off 3,000 staff members has taken the nationals by storm. The supermarket is closing its remaining in-store cafes and removing hot food counters to save £1bn following rising labour costs post-budget. Sainsbury’s is also cutting its senior management roles by 20%, as reported by the BBC.
Sainsbury’s patisserie and pizza counters will be replaced by a ‘cut your own bread’ station, The Guardian reported. And while CEO Simon Roberts’ vocal disappointment at Reeves’ “budget blow” made the headline for both The Independent and The Mail, The Guardian brought to the spotlight “the lowest paid workers” who are “once again the ones who pay for corporate greed”, in the words of Unite’s national officer Paul Travers.
The Standard published a full list of the remaining 61 in-store cafes the supermarket will close, from Pontypridd, South Wales to Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
In other news, Reuters reports that sauce producer McCormick’s forecast annual sales are below expectations at global level. Other packaged foods companies General Mills and Conagra Brands have faced similar challenges across geographical locations including China, where inflation and budget-conscious consumers have resulting in a “challenging” environment.
Traditional winemaker Chapel Downs is the subject of a Christmas miracle, as a surge in Christmas sales helped it bounce back from “lagging” earlier this year, according to The Standard. Hit by a raft of new consumers, the winemaker said it sold 7% more of its bottles this Christmas compared to last year.
BrewDog founder James Watt is at it again. The Independent reports Watt is planning to “give away largest prize in UK TV history” as he embarks on a Dragon’s Den-style reality TV called House of Unicorns.
Watt is seeking entrepreneurs whose business aspirations have been impacted by Chancellor Reeves’ budget. Contestants can win £2m to grow their businesses, “with the final aim to seeing them grow to be worth more £1bn or more.”
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