Morrisons is set close another of its supermarket stores this month, after shutting 16 sites just last month. 16 Morrisons Daily stores closed their doors on April 16, including in Bath, Poole, Romsey and Woking. However the final one – the Haxby branch – will close on May 14.
The major supermarket chain announced the closures of some of its Morrisons Daily stores, which offer extended hours and local shopping options, in March. The closures came alongside the announcement that it would shut 52 of its cafes, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters, four pharmacies and all 18 of its market kitchen food courts. A total of 365 jobs are at risk, according to Time Out. The supermarket said the Government’s increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions was to blame for the move, coupled with this month’s rise in the minimum wage.
The move sparked outrage among locals, as 11 of the Morrisons Daily sites contained Post Offices.
“Morrisons has made the difficult decision to close some Morrisons Daily stores, some of which contain Post Offices,” the chain said.
“We fully recognise the inconvenience this will cause for our customers and apologise for the short notification as these branches close between 9 April and 14 May.
“We have reviewed Post Office provision in these areas and for most of these affected branches we are advertising the vacancies.”
A Post Office spokesperson added: “We fully recognise the inconvenience this will be for our customers. Whilst we assess nearby provision of Post Office services, we would encourage our customers to use New Earswick, Strensall and Huntington.”
The alternative branches, including Strensall, are a minimum of two miles from Haxbury, according to The Mirror.
After the announcement, York’s Liberal Democrat councillors launched a petition to try to save the Post Office site. Since then, nearly 1,000 people have signed the petition.
“This closure is a blow to the store staff, residents and small businesses like my own, which depend on our local post office,” said Councillor Andrew Hollyer. “The village centre Morrisons must remain open until a new operator for the Post Office steps in.”
Morrisons was recently named one of the worst supermarket brands in the UK by Which? and joined Sainsbury’s in recent cutbacks to in-store services, which announced the closure of all remaining cafes.
