Sainsbury’s plans to close two Argos depots over next three years

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has said it plans to close two Argos depots over the next three years in a move that will impact 1,400 jobs. 

The warehouses in Basildon, Essex, and Heywood, Greater Manchester, will be closed by 2026, leaving the retailer with three remaining ones. 

Bosses said staff losing their jobs would have the ‘opportunity to find alternative roles’ elsewhere in the business. 

They added that £90million would be spent on ‘automating and modernising’ its distribution network to speed up deliveries

Today’s plans prompted a furious reaction from union leaders, who vowed to ‘fight to preserve every job’. 

Unite national officer Matt Draper said: ‘Management at Argos/Sainsbury’s has yet to provide any form of business case for the loss of these jobs. 

‘Unite will be fighting to preserve every job and will put forward an alternative business case to the company to preserve employment at these two sites.

‘This is an incredibly wealthy company which should be investing in its loyal workforce rather than dumping workers in pursuit of short-term profits.

‘If Sainsbury’s doesn’t drop its closure plans then Unite will pursue all avenues to preserve employment at these sites.’

Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive, said: “As with any major change to our business, we have not taken the difficult decision to start this consultation lightly. 

‘As part of our plan to create a simpler business, we previously set out our intention to integrate our Argos and Sainsbury’s logistics networks. 

‘Over the last few years, we’ve been working hard to transform this network as we make our business simpler, more efficient and more effective for customers. 

‘This also allows us to reduce costs, so we can invest where it will make the most impact for our customers.’

Sainsbury’s will also close its headquarters in Milton Keynes, saying that only 11 per cent of desk space is currently being used.