Morrisons is planning to ditch at least 83 property maintenance suppliers, many based in its home city of Bradford, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk as it shifts to a single provider for repairs.
The debt-laden supermarket chain, which is battling to save costs after a takeover in October 2021 by the American private equity group Clayton Dubilier & Rice, is also likely to lay off up to 50 staff dealing with property maintenance at its Bradford head office and around the country.
The suppliers, some of whom have dealt with Morrisons for decades and were taken on by the chain’s co-founder Sir Ken Morrison, said they had been warned that their contracts were likely to cease in July. They said more than 200 providers, including subcontractors, were likely to be affected and more than 100 head office staff, although this was disputed by Morrisons.
Several suppliers expressed anger that such long relationships had been apparently ended in a short video call in which they had not been able to ask questions.
Some Morrisons staff will be transferred to the new sole provider, City Facilities Management, which is based in Glasgow but has offices around the UK, while some existing suppliers may become subcontractors. Morrisons said it expected just 120 job losses overall; however, suppliers said they had been given no guarantees and believe that many more could go.
A Morrisons spokesperson said: “We are proposing some important changes and improvements to our maintenance model through a new national partnership with City FM, but we anticipate many of our existing suppliers to continue to work for Morrisons under subcontracting arrangements. We are endeavouring to communicate and execute these changes carefully and thoughtfully with all those affected.”
The companies, which provide cleaning, electrical, gardening, roofing and other maintenance professionals for Morrisons’ stores, manufacturing sites and head office, said they were angry about the likely loss of local business in a city that is already struggling.
Two suppliers said they may have to lay off almost 200 staff between them and some could fold because their businesses were so reliant on Morrisons. One supplier said they had been seeking higher payments from Morrisons amid the surge in inflation on petrol, labour and other costs. He said the company had been “begging for an increase, but they have sold us down down the river”.
The supplier added: “They project themselves as a local company selling local product from farm to fork, but it’s not local any more. The foundations Sir Ken wrote his manifesto on have been ripped up for a few quid.”
Morrisons staff handling property maintenance management in Bradford are not expected to move to Glasgow. “Sir Ken worked with people around him and so hired a lot of Bradford-based companies,” said one supplier. “His ethos was growing locally. We know all about those stores and you will never get that with one central [company].”
The suppliers said the expected loss of their contracts came after Morrisons had already cut back on maintenance budgets in the past year or so – by as much as a quarter, dropping standards on heating and even disconnecting some lights. “It is being squeezed for every bit of money,” one said.
Morrisons said lighting changes were part of energy-saving efforts intended to make the business more environmentally friendly, but denied it had cut back budgets and said spending was “broadly flat”.
However, two suppliers and one person close to Morrisons said cutbacks had been made. One supplier said: “They absolutely have cut spend. Every contractor that we know associated to them have all discussed and noted this.”
