Coles scraps in store butcher service for pre packaged meat

It means some staff face redundancies or redeployment with the supermarket giant saying it was consulting with impacted employees.

Coles has confirmed that its in-store butcher service will be scrapped and the supermarket will only offer pre-packaged meat nationally.

The decision was made at the end of August and will result in redundancies or redeployment of staff.

The supermarket giant revealed it was in talks with meat department workers over the proposal to axe in-store butchers back in June.

A Coles spokesperson said in recent years it has invested in state-of-the-art facilities and worked with supplier partners to produce retail-ready fresh meat.

“To help us meet the changing needs of our customers, we are aligning our meat operating models nationally in our stores, so that we can consistently deliver high-quality retail ready meat for our customers whenever they want to shop,” they told news.com.au.

“The change will mean our fresh meat range will be supplied to stores as retail-ready products and will not require any preparation to be carried out in-store before being placed on the shelves of our meat fridges for customers to buy.”

Coles is shutting down its in store butchers. Picture: Kelly Barnes/The Australian.

However, the Coles spokesperson flagged they will continue to operate meat counters in a small number of stores

“Prior to making our decision to proceed with these changes, we have engaged in consultation with affected meat team members as well as their union representatives,” they added.

”We are working with affected team members to assess potential redeployment and retraining opportunities within Coles.”

Paul Conway, Victorian branch secretary at the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union, previously told news.com.au that 1524 Coles team members would be affected by cutting in store butchers, including 365 in Victoria.

“Meat team members do not want to be redeployed onto lower wages and less conditions from what they now get on the National Meat Agreement, why would they?” he said back in July.

The union claims that customers will look to butcher shops for their meat. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

Contrary to what Coles say, most shoppers prefer knowing that there are in store butchers preparing the meat they purchase, he added.

“The impact on Coles will be greater sales at butcher shops, particularly butcher shops located in shopping centres where Coles are also located,” he said.

The final day for in-store butchers will be October 11.

An estimated 1 per cent of Coles’ 120,000-strong workforce are employed in the meat department.