Thousands of job losses at French supermarket chain

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Faced with the anger of farmers, the government announced massive controls on manufacturers and supermarkets. /Denis Charlet/Reuters

The French supermarket chain Casino says up to 3,300 jobs could be lost as it continues to wrestle with a transformation plan aimed at improving its financial situation.

Last year, Casino completed a deal to avoid bankruptcy but it is still planning to sell off a number of its stores and warehouses.

The precise number of job cuts will depend on how many stores and warehouses Casino can sell off by September.‌

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"The final impact in terms of job losses will depend on the Group's ability to find buyers for the hypermarkets, supermarkets and logistics platforms that are scheduled for total or partial closure," the company said in a statement.

Casino is trying to streamline operations and raise much-needed cash through the sale of its supermarket and hypermarket stores to rivals.

The retail group also operates the French grocery stores Monoprix, Franprix, Petit Casino, Vival and Cdiscount.

Casino is heavily in debt and preparing to sell at least 60 large supermarkets and 260 smaller shops. It has already offloaded more than 100 stores to its rival, Intermarché.

The embattled company said it will now focus its business on convenience stores.

Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is set to take control of the retailer this year as part of a major refinancing agreement.

Union pushback

Casino had 200,000 employees worldwide as of 2022, including 50,000 in France. The group has reduced its headcount in its home market to 28,200 staff.

A third of the workforce at the company's historic headquarters in the southern French city of St Etienne has been cut.

Trade unions have held industrial action over the takeover and the potential sell-off of Casino's stores.

All five major unions representing workers at Casino stores have backed the strikes, of which the most recent was in December. The unions cite a "lack of consideration" for employees in the company's debt-restructuring plan.