'Morrisons cafe closures will leave people cut off'

Morrisons customers in West Yorkshire have warned the retailer of the "social impact" of closing more than 50 of its cafes.

The supermarket giant said a raft of changes announced on Monday would redirect cash to other parts of the business, with 365 employees now at risk of redundancy.

The BBC spoke to shoppers in Elland to hear how the move would affect them.

Speaking at the entrance of the store, close to the River Calder and the busy A629 linking Huddersfield and Halifax, Claire Webb described the news as "terrible".

The 55-year-old, who works locally, said some pensioners relied on the cafe to socialise.

"We've had staff meals there and little get togethers and it's a sad thing for a community that has such a good cross-section of people," she said.

"I also like the fact it's good value for money and you can earn reward points in the cafe."

The move will also see the closure of 17 convenience stores, along with the closure of number of in-store services.

These include some meat and fish counters, pharmacies and all of its market kitchens.

Adrian Haigh Hutchinson, 68, said the cafe was a good spot to keep the cold at bay.

"I see a lot of older people my age sitting there having a rest, but I see it's not a profit for Morrisons," he said.

"People who use the cafe are not going to shop there now - they'll find somewhere else like Asda."

The Elland branch is a short walk away from the town centre, filled with smaller shops and pubs.

He said there would be a "social impact" on his community, adding: "It'll cut me off from more people."

It is expected the cuts will be rolled out over the next few months.

Bradford-based Morrisons has come under significant pressure from the growth of discounter rivals, with Aldi overtaking it as the UK's fourth biggest supermarket chain in 2022.

As well as closing cafes at Bradford Thornbury and Leeds Horsforth and Swinnow Road sites, in-store cafes will be shut in five London stores, as well as Portsmouth and Glasgow.

Retail expert Catherine Shuttleworth, from Savvy Marketing, called the news "sad" because the cafes are an important part of the Morrison's brand and there is a "huge amount of nostalgia" attached to them.

However, shoppers' needs are changing, she said, so Morrisons has had to adapt.

More people shop online rather than a weekly "big shop" and "cafe culture" has also evolved - customers prefer coffee over a full meal and have less time.

Ms Shuttleworth said the cost of employing people had increased "significantly" and running a hot food operation was very expensive so "the knife has fallen to the cafes".

However, she added that Morrisons could have looked at how to use the cafe spaces "more effectively" to still give customers somewhere to meet up.

"It's the end of an era", she added.

Local mother Marie Hoyle, 28, said she had been using the Morrisons cafe since having her baby.

She said: "It's disappointing for people with buggies and wheelchairs and it's a good excuse for older folk to get out.

"The cafe is incredibly important because it's reasonably priced during the cost-of-living crisis."

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "The changes we are announcing 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.

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

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

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