Carrefour has announced the elimination of 220 jobs at Cora supermarkets in Belgium. This decision is part of a broader plan to reduce about 250 jobs in total, corresponding to about an eighth of the workforce of the hypermarket chain, which currently operates seven stores in the country.
The agreement between management and the unions stipulates that the exits will take place without forced redundancies, but the situation has been described as difficult, with management threatening to declare bankruptcy if an agreement was not reached.
There are several strategic and financial reasons behind this decision, first and foremost economic difficulties: all seven Cora stores in Belgium are currently considered almost loss-making, which has pushed management to seek drastic measures to contain costs and improve the financial sustainability of the company. This choice is also part of a broader restructuring plan for the Louis Delhaize group, which has already seen the sale of other brands and the closure of unprofitable stores. The aim is to optimize operations and reduce overheads in a difficult market environment.
This development follows Carrefour's acquisition of the Cora and Match brands from the Louis Delhaize group, which led to a significant restructuring in the large-scale retail sector in Belgium and France.
