Coles to cut 600 jobs from head office: reports

SUPERMARKET giant Coles is expected to announce it is slashing its IT workforce by cutting 600 jobs, according to reports.

John Durkan is the director of Merchandising at Coles, photographed at their store in Taronga in Melbourne. Coles today announced a new partnership with Murray Darling Co-op to supply their milk.

SUPERMARKET giant Coles is expected to slash up to 600 jobs from its back office operations, including staff in IT, payments and accounts.

A report in Fairfax Media said the Wesfarmers-owned chain will announce between 500 and 600 jobs will be cut. There are 3000 people working at Coles’ Victorian headquarters and the lay-offs will potentially represent 20 per cent of its workforce.

Fairfax said Coles is expected in outsource its IT functions, sending it offshore where labour costs are cheaper.

The announcement is likely to come tomorrow from Coles managing director John Durkan, who recently took over the top gig from Ian McLeod.

Last week at the Wesfarmers annual investor’s briefing, the company flagged it would continue to look for “operational efficiencies” so it could, the company claimed, lower prices for consumers.

Coles has been diversifying its offerings with a recent expansion of its financial services products including credit cards and ‘mobile wallets’.

Coles reported a 4.5 per cent increase in its revenue to $37.39 billion for the 2014 financial year.

News.com.au has contacted Coles for comment.