UK supermarket chain could close 100 stores with jobs at risk

The supermarket said the affected Morrisons Daily branches have been loss-making for some time.

Jobs are at risk at stores across Oxfordshire, including two in Oxford and Bicester, and one each in Banbury, Carterton, Didcot, Faringdon and Thame.

Morrisons, which runs around 1,700 Daily convenience stores, took them on as part of its £190m rescue of McColl’s in 2022.

The move follows last year’s decision to shut 52 cafés and 17 convenience stores.

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The grocer said the stores’ performance has been squeezed in recent years by rising costs it links to Government policy, including increases to the national living wage and employer National Insurance contributions.

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A Morrisons spokesperson told The Retail Gazette it was proposing the “tough but necessary decision” to close the loss-making stores, with a staff consultation due to begin shortly.

The retailer has not yet revealed which sites are earmarked for closure or exactly how many roles are at risk, but it is thought that hundreds of staff could be affected.

While the company said it would try to find alternative roles for those impacted by the proposed cuts, it insisted it still has a “robust expansion plan” for 2026 and believes there is scope to open hundreds more franchise convenience stores over the coming years.