Auchan announces job cuts and store closures

Telephones screwed to their ears and eyes closed: the staff representatives, summoned by the management of Auchan, show the blow: the draft social plan is confirmed. 2,389 jobs would be threatened out of the 54,000 in France. Around ten points of sale will close, including a supermarket and three hypermarkets, due to lack of profitability. The brand's customers are not surprised. “There are often empty shelves”according to one woman. Auchan, one of the pioneers of hypermarkets, these large stores on the outskirts of cities, very popular in the 1970s for the diversity of products offered, is struggling to make a profit today.

To modernize, Auchan therefore plans to reduce its sales area, -25% on average for hypermarkets which will no longer exceed 10,000 square meters. The brand wants to focus on smaller areas, drive-thrus and home delivery of fresh produce. A “operation reconquest”in the words of Auchan managers.

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