Aldi to cut up to 350 jobs at UK headquarters as cost pressures increase

Aldi, the renowned discount grocer, is poised to eliminate up to 350 positions at its UK head office in Atherstone as it grapples with mounting costs.

Reports indicate that various roles within the buying department, spanning non-food, finance and certain back-office operations will be impacted, as reported by City AM.

This move sees Aldi join the ranks of Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, all of whom have announced job cuts following the budget revelations last October. The heightened fiscal demands on retailers due to increased taxation on staff wages are a key contributor.

In a stark warning issued earlier this month, a consortium of retailers, including heavyweight names Tesco and Marks & Spencer, alerted the Treasury to the "perfect storm" of escalating expenses facing the sector.

Represented by the Retail Jobs Alliance (RJA), they prognosticated the loss of 300,000 retail positions by the year 2030, compounded by factors such as a more substantial national insurance obligation, a novel recycling tax, and elevated business rates.

In a trend indicative of the sector's distress, last month Sainsbury's declared its intent to shut down all in-store cafes and shed 3,000 jobs. Similarly, Tesco unveiled plans to cull 400 jobs in a bid to streamline operations.

Not to be outdone, Morrisons too signalled a significant reduction in their workforce, targeting over 200 jobs within its retail people team for termination.

These measures are part of a broader initiative towards drastic cost-saving, in response to what CEO Rami Baitiéh termed an "avalanche of costs."

With retail vacancies dwindling by nearly half over the past year and the sector experiencing a loss of approximately 225,000 jobs from 2019 to 2025, as reported by the ONS, there's little doubt that the industry is under extreme duress.

This has spurred an accelerated shift towards automation, where advancing technology offers both power and cost-effectiveness, becoming an increasingly attractive alternative for the beleaguered retail landscape.

However, Aldi's restructuring will not impact any customer-facing roles. A spokesperson for Aldi informed the Grocery Gazette: "To support our continued growth and to offer the best experience to our customers, we are consulting over proposals to restructure some head office teams."

They added, "No customer-facing roles are affected, and no final decisions will be made until the consultation process is complete."