Waitrose is set to close its Enfield warehouse in the summer, placing 545 jobs at risk.
A letter written to warehouse workers from the grocer’s online director Laura Burbedge claimed the lease on the building was set to expire in 2025, and that “while exploring contract negotiations with the landlord is possible… we know our rent costs at Enfield will increase”.
According to Retail Week, Burbedge explained: “With this in mind, regrettably we’re proposing to close Waitrose Enfield [customer fulfilment centre] on July 20 and move order volume into Waitrose Coulsdon and Greenford CFCs.
“This would support the Partnership Plan and save us £8.7m of operating costs, making the overall Waitrose online operations more profitable.”
A spokesman for the retailer said impacted employees would enter consultation today, with the process predicted to last at least 12 weeks.
The news comes despite Waitrose predicting London customer orders would rise by over 50,000 per week by 2030.
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A Waitrose spokesperson said: “With rental costs at Enfield due to increase and capacity elsewhere in our network, we are considering the closure of the site.
“While not an option we’re exploring lightly, the proposal would maintain our high levels of customer service for Waitrose.com and support future growth. It’s in no way a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our team.”
They added: “No decision will be made until we have fully consulted with all partners at our Enfield site who are being supported throughout the process.”
Waitrose owner John Lewis Partnership is currently on a cost-cutting drive.
It made £111m in productivity improvements over its last financial year, bringing its total to £420m since it kicked off its Partnership plan in January 2021.
Earlier this month, it said it was on track to meet its £900m productivity savings target by 2027/28, a large proportion of which comes from upgrading its systems.
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