Loblaw Companies Ltd. confirmed Wednesday it is eliminating 275 positions in management and administration at the company.

“This move is part of our commitment to becoming a more agile company better prepared to compete in the marketplace and with a continued focus on our customers’ experience in our stores,” said Melinda Metcalfe, Loblaw’s public relations director.

“Specifically, it’s part of our effort to improve our administration, in both process and cost, by eliminating duplication, reducing expenses and driving efficiencies with a leaner structure. We believe this move will improve the way Loblaw operates.”

Approximately 200 of the positions are at the Brampton head office. There is very little impact to stores, she added.

Shortly after news of the layoffs was released, Loblaw Companies Ltd’s stock priced surged, ending the day up $1.08 to $47.09, a jump of 2.35 per cent

“A key to our long-term success will be our steadfast commitment to managing administrative costs and improving processes while we continue to invest in strategies that focus on our customer.”

Exactly a year before Wednesday’s announcement, Loblaws eliminated 700 payroll and administration jobs from its Brampton head office. That day Perry Caicco, managing director of CIBC World Markets, wrote a note to investors pointing out that the layoffs wouldn’t save much money since Loblaws would likely outsource the jobs they had cut.

He also seemed to foreshadow Wednesday’s layoffs.

“…the company will struggle to re-assign eliminated roles in a productive fashion,” he wrote last year. “In other words, we believe the risk of poor head office execution and service to stores will be high for at least 12 months.”

But in the intervening year Loblaws stock price shot up, gaining $13.21 since the close of trading last Oct. 16.

The layoffs come two weeks after the Loblaw-owned clothing line Joe Fresh signaled an aggressive global expansion by hiring Mario Grauso, formerly head of the Vera Wang group, to guide the growth of its apparel brand.

And they come as the company continues to bicker with unions at its outlets across Canada. On Tuesday, a group of unionized workers locked out and on strike from Loblaw properties in Quebec traveled to Toronto to protest the work stoppages at Loblaw stores and the head office in Brampton.

In June, Loblaw was fined $5,000 after the Quebec Labour Relations Board ruled the company had interfered in organizing and negotiated in bad faith with a union at a store in Rouyn-Noranda.

In July, the company announced the $12.4 billion acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart, a move that would provide a broader network of retailers for its President’s Choice products, while strengthening the in-store pharmacies at Loblaw outlets.

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That merger is still awaiting approval from the Competition Bureau.

Loblaw has been facing increasing competition in the marketplace as Wal-Mart has grown its grocery offerings and Target has entered the market, offering a selection of fresh and prepared foods for shoppers.

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