Sainsbury's to axe 3,500 jobs in stores revamp, Argos closures

Sainsbury's said it was axing up to 3,500 jobs as part of a shakeup of its fresh fish and meat counters and Argos stores while reporting a 6.9% rise in first-half retail sales.

The group on Thursday reported a loss before tax of £137m, reflecting £438m in one-off costs associated with the closure of 120 Argos stores. Around 420 standalone stores are set to go over the next three-and-a-half years, with 150 to move into main stores.

It also unveiled a special dividend of 7.3p a share to be paid in lieu of final dividend for the 2019/20 financial year, and an interim dividend of 3.2p.

Full year underlying profit before tax was now expected to be at least 5% higher than last year, reflecting stronger than expected sales, particularly at Argos, the grocer added.

Chief executive Simon Roberts said the company was responding to changing consumer habits and the growth of online shopping. He added that said the closure of in-store counters was a response to lower customer demand and a desire to cut food waste.

The redundancies, which were announced on the day England entered a second lockdown for four weeks, came a day after John Lewis and Lloyds Banking Group said they were cutting a combined 2,500 jobs.