UK food-on-the-go retailer Greggs has launched a collective consultation with union and employee representatives to reduce employment costs.
To lower the risk of job cuts, the company is in talks with staff to reduce working hours.
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In a third-quarter trading update, Greggs said: “With the Job Retention Scheme planned to end in October we are taking steps to ensure that our employment costs reflect the estimated level of demand from November onwards.
“With business activity levels remaining below normal for the foreseeable future, we must change the way we work to be as productive and flexible as we can in order to protect as many jobs as possible for the long term.
“We have completed a review of our activity and requirements in every part of the business and are now proposing a series of changes which are the subject of collective consultation with union and employee representatives.”
In March, the company temporarily closed its stores across the UK to help contain the viral spread.
As of 26 September, the company opened 38 new shops and closed 49 shops. It has a total of 2,039 shops including 1,720 company-managed shops and 319 franchised units.
In the update, the company said it has made delivery and click & collect options available across the country.
Greggs reported improvement in September company-managed shop like-for-like sales to 76.1% in the four weeks to 26 September.
It expects to open a total of 20 shops this year mainly in locations accessible by car.
Furthermore, the company noted that it will commission its new automated frozen logistics facility in the North East in the second quarter of 2021.
