By Daniel Thomas
Business reporter, BBC News
Ocado volition halt operations its Hatfield lawsuit fulfilment centre aboriginal this year, putting 2,300 jobs astatine risk.
The online grocer, which runs the tract successful a associated task with Marks & Spencer, said it hopes to redeploy arsenic galore unit arsenic imaginable to different centres, including its caller Luton site.
It comes arsenic retailers progressively displacement to robotic lawsuit fulfilment centres which are much productive.
Ocado said it did not expect the measurement of orders it fulfils to beryllium affected.
The steadfast says the Hatfield tract - which was its archetypal fulfilment centre - handles astir a 5th of the 400,000 orders it processes per week.
These volition present beryllium moved to "high-productivity, next-generation facilities" astir the UK, it said, including its Luton tract which is scheduled to unfastened aboriginal this year.
Ocado said its latest procreation of automated fulfilment centres were "consistently achieving good implicit 200 units picked per labour hour", compared to astir 150 for its archetypal procreation tract successful Hatfield.
The newer sites besides person usage little vigor and person amended capableness to grip same-day deliveries, it added.
Boss Tim Steiner said that present was the close clip to halt operations astatine Hatfield and see "future options for the site".
He said a consultation for affected unit had begun but that the concern expected to clasp "a ample proportionality of colleagues".