Jobs at Sainsbury's are under threat after the supermarket announced this morning (Thusrday) that they were looking to cut a raft of positions at the company.

Around 3,500 roles are to be axed at the supermarket chain across the country, said chief executive Mr Simon Roberts.

The announcement also included the closure of 420 outlets of Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury's after buying it in 2016.

The 420 standalone Argos stores will close by March 2024, although Sainsbury's said it would open 150 Argos outlets in its supermarkets.

The supermarket has made a loss of £137 million in the six months prior to September of this year. The news has also come on the day that England enters a new four-week lockdown.

Sainsbury's is currently the only supermarket in Biddulph. Plans to build an Aldi supermarket in the town are awaiting a decision by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts said in a statement today: "We are talking to colleagues today about where the changes we are announcing in Argos standalone stores and food counters impact their roles.

"We will work really hard to find alternative roles for as many of these colleagues as possible and expect to be able to offer alternative roles for the majority of impacted colleagues."

"As we go into lockdown in England for the second time this year and restrictions are in place across the UK, we know our customers and colleagues are feeling anxious and we will do all we can to support them.

"COVID-19 has accelerated a number of shifts in our industry. Investments over recent years in digital and technology have laid the foundations for us to flex and adapt quickly as customers needed to shop differently. Around 19 per cent of our sales were digital this time last year and nearly 40 per cent of our sales are digital today.

"While we are working hard to help feed the nation through the pandemic, we have also spent time thinking about how we deliver for our customers and our shareholders over the longer term."