Ocado to cut 1,000 jobs in £150m cost-saving drive

Ocado is to cut 1,000 jobs as the retail technology business attempts to £150m in costs though a substantial restructuring programme.The company confirmed that about 5% of its global workforce will be affected, with roughly two-thirds of the job losses affecting its UK operations.About two-thirds of the jobs are expected to go from the UK, where the company is based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. About half the jobs going are in technology, with the rest made up of support staff.The business, which runs robotic warehouses for supermarket chains, said it plans to scale back research and development, helping it cut about £150m in technology and support costs in 2026. It also cited “AI efficiencies” and “cost discipline” in reducing its spending.As part of the overhaul, Ocado will restructure its commercial, support and R&D operations, merging Ocado Solutions and Ocado Intelligent Automation into a single division.The latest cuts come only a year after Ocado cut 500 technology roles, saying it was using more artificial intelligence to help with research and engineering.Conveyor belts at Ocado’s customer fulfilment centre in Hatfield. About two-thirds of the company’s job cuts are expected to be in the UK. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PAThe chief executive, Tim Steiner, said: “Regrettably, this means a significant number of roles will no longer be required.“We are grateful to colleagues who are affected by these changes, and whose talent and hard work have made a lasting contribution to Ocado. We will support those impacted through this process.”Shares in Ocado dived almost 10% on Thursday morning and is now down by more than a third in the past year after a series of disappointing announcements about its plans for the future.Ocado said last month that its Canadian partner was closing a warehouse that uses its robots and automation technology in another blow to the UK online delivery group’s business model.It announced that Sobeys would be shutting the Calgary facility, saying it was “largely due to the Alberta grocery e-commerce market’s size and the rate of expansion being slower than originally anticipated”.The decision came less than three months after Ocado’s US partner Kroger closed three warehouses, knocking almost a fifth off the UK company’s value.While Ocado is known in the UK as an online grocer, much of its business is built on providing its proprietary software and robotics, known as the Ocado Smart Platform, to other companies to run their delivery operations. The company currently has 30 operational sites around the worldIts UK retail arm is a joint venture with Marks & Spencer and reports separately from the technology business.PA Media contributed to this report