Co-op’s cost-cutting effort will see some staff working on their own for parts of the day in a very small number of ‘quieter’ stores from July.
Some of the retail group’s employees working on the frontline, including those servicing the public at stores that are due to introduce ‘Project Lunar’ from next month, have voiced concerns about lone working and the implications for their safety and security.
A Co-op spokesperson told Better Retailing earlier this month that the purpose of the ‘cost-cutting’ project’s implementation in a select number of its stores is to minimise waste and to simplify tasks. However, it also means that store managers or team leaders in these marginal stores will work alone on the shop floor for short periods during slower daylight trading hours.
According to The Guardian, the Project Lunar scheme was first trialled in five locations last year but from July it will be expanded to cover a total of 60 branches.
Project Lunar’s roll out comes after Tesco has started to pilot earlier closures at a handful of its lower-performing stores, known internally as ‘Express Lite’, which also employ fewer staff operating on shifts. However, according to The Guardian, some frontline staff have voiced concerns that their safety and security is already being put at risk at other Co-op stores that are not part of Project Lunar, especially when there are not enough people on duty.
Co-op know the violence and abuse that their workers face, but instead of providing adequate staffing levels to make workers feel safer are instead investing in new headsets and forms of AI surveillance. This relates to the ‘one-on-one’ operations that exist at many other stores. In these stores, one staff member will undertake duties such as filling shelves or managing the stockroom, leaving one other to operate the till, leaving them as the only public-facing employee during certain periods. Staff members’ safety and security concerns come off the back of a reported surge in shoplifting across the sector and also an increase in abuse and violence directed at staff.
According to the British Retail Consortium’s Crime Survey 2025, based on data from September 2023 to August 2024, incidents of abuse and violence have risen to more than 2,000 a day, up from 1,300 the previous year and amounting to 737,000 during this period. The survey notes that more than 25,000, or 70 a day, involved the use of a weapon.
In the case of the Co-op, the retail group reported a 44% increase in shoplifting, mainly committed by gangs, in 2023, according to evidence that its public affairs director Paul Gerrard gave to the House of Lords justice and home affairs committee. In many cases, individuals will make
violent threats to staff if challenged.
Although the Co-op has said that it is actively combating retail crime and the safety and wellbeing of its staff is a priority, a survey of its staff by the worker- led network Organise found that 80% felt unsafe at work due to short staffing.
Many Co-op employees have reported being left alone to pack online orders and manage self-checkouts and tills in some of the small stores while even in larger outlets, some staff say they can be left in the same position when a colleague takes a break or is managing deliveries, reports the newspaper.
Source – IOSH
