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Ocado Group has announced plans to cut around 1,000 jobs as part of a sweeping restructuring aimed at reducing costs by £150m.
The move will affect roughly 5% of the company’s global workforce, with approximately two-thirds of the redundancies expected to fall in the UK. Most of the domestic job losses will impact staff based at Ocado’s headquarters in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
Major Restructure and Cost Discipline
The retail technology group, which operates highly automated warehouses for supermarket partners worldwide, said it would scale back research and development spending as part of efforts to trim £150m in technology and support costs by 2026.
Ocado also cited “AI efficiencies” and tighter cost controls as key factors behind the restructuring. As part of the reorganisation, the company will merge Ocado Solutions and Ocado Intelligent Automation into a single division, streamlining its commercial, support and R&D operations.
Chief executive Tim Steiner described the decision as difficult but necessary.
“Regrettably, this means a significant number of roles will no longer be required,” Steiner said. “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.”
International Setbacks Add Pressure
The restructuring comes amid mounting challenges overseas. Last month, Ocado revealed that its Canadian partner Sobeys would close a robotic warehouse in Calgary that used Ocado’s automation technology. Sobeys cited slower-than-expected growth in Alberta’s online grocery market as the main reason for the shutdown.
The decision followed similar moves in the United States, where Ocado’s partner Kroger closed three automated fulfilment centres earlier this year. Those closures dealt a further blow to Ocado’s international expansion strategy and weighed heavily on investor confidence.
Strategic Reset
Ocado has long promoted its robotic warehouse technology as a transformative solution for grocery retailers worldwide. However, slower e-commerce growth in certain regions and higher operational costs have forced the company to reassess its spending and streamline operations.
The latest job cuts signal a strategic reset as Ocado focuses on efficiency, profitability, and stabilising its international partnerships.
While the company maintains confidence in its long-term technology platform, the restructuring underscores the challenges facing online grocery and automation businesses in a shifting global market.
