Morrisons risks union wrath

Morrisons is risking the wrath of unions over a review of its depot operations which could threaten more than 2,500 job losses.

According to the GMB Union, the retailer is planning to close down three depots, in Kent, Bristol and Cheshire, all formerly owned by Safeway.

The retailer admitted that a thorough review of its depots was under way, but the union says staff were not consulted and is now threatening strike action.

The GMB said there had been no consultation between it and Morrisons about redeploying workers.

It also told the BBC it had no idea whether the sites were going to be sold as a going concern or closed down and "bulldozed and all the rest of it".

It is now warning Morrisons it could be facing the biggest national strike in its history.

The retailer said in a statement: "Since acquiring Safeway, we have sold over 180 stores and the reality is that we have more depot space and capacity than we need.

"Therefore it is likely that not all current operations will be retained once our review is complete."

Morrisons said it was keeping its workers and unions fully informed and planned to hold further talks once the review was complete.

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