Greggs bakery job losses will hit around 740 manufacturing workers as the chain plans to close four sites over the next two-and-a-half years. The move comes alongside its latest financial results and a cost-saving restructuring plan, but the company is still pushing ahead with store openings.
Alex Pugh on 740 jobs
£60m is the cost Greggs has tied to the closures, and it expects that bill to take around three years to pay off. Alex Pugh, an analyst at Freetrade, said: "The factory shake-up is the tougher news. Around 740 jobs could go, which is a big call for a business proud of making its own products."
44 pages of new roles were still listed on Greggs's website, showing that the cuts are not a simple retreat from hiring. The company is separating manufacturing cuts from its store plan, which keeps the focus on production efficiency rather than shop sales.
Greggs stores keep expanding
Between 100 and 110 new stores and 12 express locations are still on track for the final months of 2026, while Greggs also has a longer-term target of 3,500 shops. It currently has around 2,700 shops, so the closures sit inside a wider shift rather than a shrinking footprint.
New shops are doing most of the work, Pugh said, while existing stores delivered less than half the growth and customers, once inflation is stripped out, are not buying much more than they did a year ago. If that pattern holds, the figures point to a company leaning harder on expansion and a narrower set of products to keep growth moving.
Greggs product shift
Greggs is quietly becoming a drinks brand, Pugh said, adding that the home of the sausage roll leaned on matcha and cherry lemonade through a scorching summer. He said its push into protein, salads, and functional drinks shows it is following customers toward healthier habits, even as the manufacturing side gets smaller.
Savour the 2026 upgrade, because Greggs is already flagging higher costs and inflation for 2027, Pugh said. The unresolved issue is which manufacturing sites will close and how the work will be redistributed as the four-site shutdowns move through the next two-and-a-half years.
