Merger 'risks store closures and job losses’, Unite warns

The Sainsbury’s-Asda merger could lead to store closures and job losses, the Unite union has warned.

Following the news that Asda’s owner Walmart was in advanced talks with Sainsbury’s about a potential £15 billion tie-up, the union’s national officer for Sainsbury’s called the deal an “absolute shocker”, with “implications for tens of thousands of jobs”.

He added: “Obviously, if you’ve got stores in close location to one another, stores will close”.

Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe insisted the deal would not lead to store closures or in-store job losses, however.

Speaking on Radio Four’s Today Programme, he said: 'There's been a bit of commentary over the weekend where people have been alluding to the fact that the only way of making this happen is by closing stores - that is not true.

'The stores will continue to trade and of course that's where the vast majority of people employed by both companies actually work.'

Sainsbury’s has 150,000 staff and 1,400 stores, while Asda has 165,000 staff and 650 stores. Whereas the majority of Sainsbury’s stores are convenience outlets, with a focus on the South, Asda mainly has superstores, with greater coverage of the North.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey cautioned against the merger, saying it risks “squeezing what little competition there is in the groceries market even further”.

She said that, if it is not properly vetted by competition regulators, it will be “British shoppers that suffer from rising prices and British workers that may be fearing for their jobs”.

Following the announcement of talks, Unite called for guarantees on jobs, saying staff at Sainsbury’s were already being “put through the mill” by alleged plans to cut Sunday premium pay and paid breaks.

Clarke said: “Long serving store staff were already facing the imposition of a ‘sack or sign’ contract, the loss of Sunday premium pay and paid breaks, in addition to no increase in salary until 2020.

“They, along with their colleagues in warehousing and logistics, now face the uncertainty of a proposed merger, the threat of more job losses and the possibility of store closures.”

Unite added that the retailer’s proposal to increase pay to £9.20 an hour for workers at Sainsbury’s 1,400 stores from September would be eroded by the removal of premium pay for Sunday working. The normal rate at present is £8.00 an hour.

Unite represents more than 12,000 members working for Sainsbury's.