Sainsbury's to close six cafes in West Midlands

Sainsbury's said it plans to close its 61 remaining UK cafes

Sainsbury's has announced plans to close six in-store cafes in the West Midlands as part of a drive to save £1bn by 2028.

The supermarket giant said it was proposing to shut its remaining 61 cafes in the UK amid a major overhaul that will see 3,000 jobs cut.

It came three years after the company closed 200 of its cafes, citing a decrease in demand from shoppers.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury's, said the business was facing a challenging environment and had to make "difficult choices".

The cafes closing in the West Midlands are at the stores in:

• Hereford, Herefordshire

• Whitchurch Bargates, Shropshire

• Marshall Lake, Solihull

• Cannock, Staffordshire

• Leek, Staffordshire

• Rugby, Warwickshire

The firm will also be shutting the cafe at the supermarket in Nantwich, Cheshire.

Mr Roberts said: "We are facing a particularly challenging cost environment which means we have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective.

"The decisions we are announcing today are essential to ensure we continue to drive forward our momentum but have also meant some difficult choices impacting our dedicated colleagues in a number of parts of our business."

He said the company would do everything it could to support people who were affected by the announcement.