Supermarket cuts affect drivers' jobs
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I by Sally Nash
wo big-league transport irms are laying off drivers folowing a cost-cutting blitz by Ugh-street supermarkets.
Christian Salvesen could le shedding up to 480 staff at is Droitwich Sainsbury's lepot, according to the GMB mion, although it is not known tow many of these will be Iriving jobs.
The move follows Iainsbury's decision to trans'er food distribution from )roltwich to other UK depots.
Christian Salvesen says the site's closure, although not nevitable, could happen over h e summer.
At the same time Wincanton .ogistics is axeing more than 80 staff, including drivers, at its Nellingborough distribution centre. This has been sparked • Somerfield's decision to make Wellingborough a national distribution centre for ambient-temperature, slow-moving goods which means that deliveries to stores from the centre will stop.
Consultation with the unions has now begun and Wincanton says it will try to offer drivers jobs at other sites—the company promises there will "be no more than 32" driver redundancies.
Graeme McFaull, managing director of Wincanton Consumer Logistics, says: "This announcement is an unfortunate consequence of the client's strategic review of its distribution network." He concludes: "It is not a reflection of any dissatisfaction with service levels."
• Shareholders in Uniq, formerly Unigate, have approved the demerger of Wincanton (CM 5-11 April). This should now go through at the end of May.