Hundreds of Corby iForce jobs on the line as Aldi announces it will stop selling its famous 'Specialbuys' online

Hundreds more jobs are at risk in Corby after a big-name logistics firm lost a key contract with Aldi.

About 350 workers at iForce were told the bombshell news in a meeting with senior managers at the company.

It could also affect others in Kettering and Thrapston, although the company declined to confirm exactly how many jobs could be at risk.

Many staff at iForce are mainly employed by agency Logistics People. It has two bases in Corby at Longcroft Road and Geddington Road.

Aldi said that it had decided to cease selling its hugely-popular Specialbuys as well as wine online.

One insider told this newspaper that staff were called into a meeting to be told that the move will be made by the end of September. They were told that Aldi had recorded an uptick in online sales during the pandemic, but that volumes had since dropped.

They also warned the 350-plus Aldi warehouse workers that their jobs were officially at risk, with workers either moved to other contracts or made redundant.

Bosses told them they hoped that the long notice period meant that they could minimise redundancies.

The insider said: “The finance director mentioned that a ‘silver lining’ for us is the amount of time we have until the website closes.

"The seven-and-a-bit months allows us time to look for solutions, and minimise the amount of job losses.

"Now there is talk about some other smaller contracts joining the warehouse but Aldi is by quite a distance the largest client at iForce Geddington Road, so it would take more than a few to keep the majority of the workers on.

"For example, Aldi is the only one in the building that has a day shift, back shift, night shift and a weekend shift.”

“The 350 estimate was not including the office workers upstairs at iForce that operate on the Aldi contract, nor the employees at Aldi operations at other iForce sites such as Kettering.”

Redundancy consultation meetings are scheduled for February.

This has been the worst month for the Corby jobs market since the announcement of the steelworks closure 40 years ago. Corby is at the coalface of the logistics and manufacturing industries so often acts as a bellwether for troubling times ahead.

In December the Office of National Statistics warned that there may be signs a previously buoyant jobs market, with periods of record employment, may be showing signs of cooling.

So far in January, our reporters have learned of up about 1,300 jobs either redundant or at risk in Corby. The town has a working-age population of 35,000 meaning the recent losses are a significant blow to the town.

Just after the New Year, this newspaper learned that Berry Superfos was to close its thermoforming plant in the town, with the potential loss of up to 100 jobs.

Cambridge Weight Plan announced that it would make 20 workers redundant last week.

And then this week, Orchard House Foods closed its doors with the loss of 500 permanent staff and up to 350 agency workers.

In the twelve months leading to quarter three of 2022, only 66 per cent of Corby’s employment-age population were in work – significantly lower than the national average of 75.5 per cent.

But one leading recruitment consultant, who has worked in Corby for many years, said that the jobs market had changed significantly since Brexit, and again in more recent months.

He told the Northants Telegraph that the influx of workers from Europe had dried up, but that for the first time in a long time there were more people in Corby needing work than there were available jobs.

He said: “For the first time in years we’ve been in a position to be really selective about placing people.

"In 2022 and so far this year, we’ve had lots of availability. Lots of companies have unfortunately been letting people go.”

An iForce spokesman said “We are working with our colleagues to understand the impact of this change for our people. This will involve exploring different options for our colleagues across iForce and our wider group businesses.”

A spokesman for Aldi said: “Aldi now has around 1,000 stores across the country and we’re building even more to bring our great quality, low priced products closer to more people. Aldi is more popular than ever, and we are prioritising making our wine and Specialbuy products available in our stores.

“We keep our prices low by being the most efficient retailer in Britain and we have therefore taken the decision to stop selling wine and spirits online for home delivery from later this month. We will also stop selling our Specialbuys online for home delivery later this year.

"Our grocery click & collect service will continue, and we would like to thank every customer that has bought Aldi products online. Aldi will continue to consider new digital services in the future.”