UK retailer The Co-operative Group has defended the amount of outsourcing in its distribution network after criticism from union officials.

The UK’s fifth-largest retailer was slammed by union Unite for its decision to close two distribution sites in Chelston and Portbury and build a new one in Avonmouth, which will be run with logistics group Norbert Dentressangle.

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Unite criticised The Co-op’s outsourcing and said the retailer had “got the privatisation bug”.

However, a spokesperson for The Co-op stood by the changes to the retailer’s distribution network in the south-west of England and said it had reduced its use of third-party logistics providers.

“We now have less outsourced work than at any time since we acquired Somerfield, whose entire network was outsourced to a third party,” the spokesperson told just-food. 

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“Once Avonmouth opens next year, the management and warehouse operations of all our distribution centres will be handled entirely in-house, and only four of our 12 depots will have an outsourced transport solution.

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“The decision to outsource the transport operation at Avonmouth is a commercial one, but all drivers who transfer to this depot will have their terms and conditions protected by TUPE. As we have two major distribution centres to ramp up over the next 12 months, we need to minimise risks, to ensure continued and uninterrupted high levels of service to our stores.”

The Co-op is spending GBP20m (US$31.2m) on the new site at Avonmouth, which is set to open in September. The Chelston depot will close in November and the Portbury site will shut next April.

Both closures were announced last year as The Co-op reviewed its operations in the wake of its acquistion of Somerfield. However, the dates of the closures were confirmed this week. The Co-op said all staff at Chelston, which employs around 340 staff, will be offered the chance to move to the new site at Avonmouth, which is 50 miles away. The 350 workers at Portbury will transfer under TUPE employment regulations.

The new Avonmouth depot will also take on the operations of a depot in Bridgwater, which closed last year.