The upmarket grocer began consulting with staff at the six stores – in Hertford, Staines, Leek, Huntingdon, Cardiff Queen Street and Palmers Green in north London – on Monday ahead of planned closures later this year. The company said it hoped to replace the Palmers Green store with a new outlet in nearby Winchmore Hill.
The company is also removing the role of department manager in its 350 stores, affecting 180 jobs.
Waitrose said most of the 486 department managers would become deputy store managers and the reduction in staff would happen gradually over three years through retirement, “natural turnover” and voluntary redundancies.
