Morrisons announces 35 counter closures in blow to shoppers

Morrisons has made a massive change to some of its stores following the closure of 35 butcher counters across the country. Now, rather than having a butcher cut meat for customers at their request, the supermarket will offer pre-packaged cut meat.

The change is being made to cut the time butchers spend cutting meat in the stores. The move has already been implemented in 60 supermarket stores, with Morrisons hoping to expand it to 100 by the end of 2025.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "We are moving at pace with modernisation of Market Street as part of our Morrisons Magic Programme, and following successful trials, we've begun to roll out flatbeds in our butchery departments.

"These showcase the same range, with the freshness and quality that Market Street is renowned for but with a more modern and contemporary look.

"They offer both the convenience of self-service for customers that prefer it and the traditional individual service from an in-store butcher."

The move comes after the supermarket confirmed that it was closing 35 meat counters and the same number of fish counters as part of a wider restructuring, which also included the closure of 17 Morrison Daily stores, 52 cafes, 18 market kitchens and 13 florists.

At the time, Morrisons revealed that the now closed services were not financially viable. It was also looking to cut other costs, including employers National Insurance contributions and minimum wage, which both increased this year.

Rami Baittieh, Chief Executive of Morrisons, said at the time: "The changes...are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth.

"Morrisons Cafes are rightly famous for their great quality well-priced food, their place in the local community and their appealing mix of traditional favourites alongside exciting new dishes.

"In most locations the Morrisons Cafe has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.

"Market Street is a beacon of differentiation for Morrisons and we remain committed to it. But as we modernise we are making some necessary changes to the areas of the model which are simply uneconomic.

"In some stores where we are closing counters or Cafes, we plan to work with third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer.

"Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues.

"We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes."