Ocado to cut R&D roles as losses narrow

Ocado has revealed it is set to reduce its research and development (R&D) workforce both in the UK and globally as part of its effort to return to profitability.

This comes despite the fact Ocado posted a pre-tax loss of £374.5m for the year ended 1 December 2024, a slight improvement from a loss of £393.6m the previous year.

Alongside this, the company posted total group revenues of £3.2bn, a 14.1% increase compared with the same period last year.

CEO Tim Steiner did not confirm the exact number of losses but confirmed it was “significantly” fewer than the 1,000 redundancies made across the business in 2023-24.

The company has stated that these cuts are part of the company’s broader goal to achieve positive cash flow by 2026.

Ocado also noted that it was in ongoing discussions with M&S, regarding the final payment of £190.7m due in April as part of their 50-50 joint venture deal, Ocado Retail.

The venture which launched in 2019 has not met its performance targets, leading to negotiations over the payment.

Ocado has previously suggested that it may take legal action to secure the agreed-upon amount.

Adam Warby, chair of Ocado Group, said: “My first months as chair of Ocado Group have been busy and hugely engaging. I have spent time with shareholders, partners and teams across our business to understand how the Board can support and work with them best during the continued evolution of Ocado.

“The business has made good financial progress this year. We have reached important milestones with the deployment of our Re:Imagined technologies and deepened our relationships with global partners. But there remains much for us to do.”

Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado Group, added: “In 2024, we delivered a shift in the potential of robotics and automation to improve retail supply chains. Our latest technologies have begun to roll out at scale to Ocado’s global partners. This marked a milestone for our technology, with the already market-leading productivity of an Ocado CFC almost doubling over the course of a decade.

“At the same time, online continues to drive the greatest share of organic growth in the global grocery market. Our partners are well set-up to take advantage of this growth with Ocado’s technology, and we have a strong prospect pipeline across grocery, non-grocery and logistics. Ocado Retail in the UK continues to lead the way as consistently the fastest growing grocer in the market and reaching 1 million active shoppers for the first time.”