Colruyt supermarket sales: up to 889 employees "likely to be made redundant" in France

Belgian retailer Colruyt announced Monday that a maximum of 889 employees were "likely to be made redundant for economic reasons" as part of the sale of its 104 stores in France.

The Belgian brand, established in France since 1998, employs nearly 2,300 people in France, primarily in the northeastern quarter. Last week, the Les Mousquetaires/Intermarché retail group agreed to acquire 81 of these stores for a total of approximately €215 million.

This takeover project "involves the automatic transfer of 1,319 employees," Colruyt said in a press release on Monday. However, some 24 other stores (one of which is not open) "would not be taken over," Colruyt said, confirming that it is "actively seeking additional buyers for the sites not taken over" and that "several expressions of interest (...) have been received."

"In total, this would involve the elimination of 950 jobs," the Belgian group stated. Of these, "the maximum number of employees likely to be laid off for economic reasons would be 889," according to the press release.

The headquarters, located in Rochefort-sur-Nenon (Jura), is also not part of the takeover plan of the Mousquetaires Group, the third-largest player in the sector in France. "A job protection plan is being prepared with social partners," the Belgian brand added.

Last April, Colruyt Retail France mentioned "difficult conditions in the highly competitive French food distribution market," stressing that "despite significant efforts to improve the profitability of its French operations, the expected results had not been achieved."