Morrisons’ workforce fell by almost 5,000 employees last year due to restructuring and cost-saving measures across the business.
The company’s average employee headcount dropped from 101,144 to 96,232 in the year to 26 October 2025, a reduction of 4,912 people. Around 4,200 fewer employees were working in Morrisons stores, alongside roughly 500 fewer manufacturing staff and 200 fewer distribution workers.
However, Morrisons said the reduction was not the result of an additional redundancy programme across its supermarkets, with store numbers primarily falling as employees who chose to leave were not replaced.
Morrisons attributed the wider decline in staff numbers to changes including the closure of its newspaper home delivery operation within convenience, a restructuring of its retail people team and the downsizing of its Rathbones bakery business.
Morrisons said at the time that the multi-year transformation was designed to simplify its structures and allow central teams to better support stores in what it described as challenging market conditions.
Despite the reduction in headcount, Morrisons recorded a 3.2 per cent rise in full-year revenue to £15.8bn in 2024/25, while like-for-like sales increased 2.8 per cent. Underlying EBITDA remained flat at £835m.
The supermarket delivered £233m of cost savings during the year, taking cumulative savings under its efficiency programme to £845m. It expects to surpass its £1bn savings target by the end of its 2025/26 financial year.
Chief financial officer Jo Goff said the business had worked to offset higher costs stemming from the government’s 2024 Budget and wider inflationary pressures, while continuing to reduce debt.
The latest workforce figures come alongside further restructuring across Morrisons’ estate. Earlier this year the supermarket unveiled plans to close 100 loss-making convenience stores as it sought to tackle rising operating costs, with hundreds of roles potentially affected.
Morrisons has continued to insist that cost reduction remains central to strengthening the business as competition across the UK grocery sector intensifies.
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