AG Parfett & Son has informed staff of plans to make up to 76 redundancies across its six depots.
The cash & carry wholesaler decided to lay people off at a board meeting last week. Some roles would be made redundant as a result of operational changes, and in other areas the numbers would simply be slimmed down, the company said.
As The Grocer went to press it had not decided which positions would go.
"The board's past acceptance of 'overstaffing' in our depots is no longer appropriate or viable," it said in a letter sent to all staff and seen by The Grocer. The letter added that while it had not yet decided on the future shape of the business, improving operational efficiency was "vital to ensure the long-term viability of the company".
The wholesaler also confirmed a pay freeze this financial year. "Having taken the very difficult decision to reduce staff levels through redundancy, it would be both morally wrong and also contradictory to award any increase in wage rates," it said.
A consultation period will run until 27 April. The company will consider voluntary redundancies and has decided to pay 50% above the statutory requirement.
Parfetts is ranked 17th on The Grocer's list of the Big 30 wholesalers. It recorded turnover of £289m, up 4.3%, in the year to June 2010. Pre-tax profits grew to 2.8% in the same period, giving it a 1% pre-tax profit margin, slightly below the industry average. At the time it employed 618 staff. Dhamecha Cash & Carry, which also has six cash & carries, recorded turnover of £428.5m but has just 450 members of staff.
"We're always carried more staff than our competitors and will still be in that position once the exercise has been carried out," said managing director David Grimes.
"As a board, it's our duty to take a long-term view of how we see things in the next three to five years and put a staffing structure in place to meet the future needs of the business. The business is trading quite well but there are areas where we're not as efficient as we might be."
The cash & carry wholesaler decided to lay people off at a board meeting last week. Some roles would be made redundant as a result of operational changes, and in other areas the numbers would simply be slimmed down, the company said.
As The Grocer went to press it had not decided which positions would go.
"The board's past acceptance of 'overstaffing' in our depots is no longer appropriate or viable," it said in a letter sent to all staff and seen by The Grocer. The letter added that while it had not yet decided on the future shape of the business, improving operational efficiency was "vital to ensure the long-term viability of the company".
The wholesaler also confirmed a pay freeze this financial year. "Having taken the very difficult decision to reduce staff levels through redundancy, it would be both morally wrong and also contradictory to award any increase in wage rates," it said.
A consultation period will run until 27 April. The company will consider voluntary redundancies and has decided to pay 50% above the statutory requirement.
Parfetts is ranked 17th on The Grocer's list of the Big 30 wholesalers. It recorded turnover of £289m, up 4.3%, in the year to June 2010. Pre-tax profits grew to 2.8% in the same period, giving it a 1% pre-tax profit margin, slightly below the industry average. At the time it employed 618 staff. Dhamecha Cash & Carry, which also has six cash & carries, recorded turnover of £428.5m but has just 450 members of staff.
"We're always carried more staff than our competitors and will still be in that position once the exercise has been carried out," said managing director David Grimes.
"As a board, it's our duty to take a long-term view of how we see things in the next three to five years and put a staffing structure in place to meet the future needs of the business. The business is trading quite well but there are areas where we're not as efficient as we might be."
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