Coles Group’s general manager of IT, Conrad Harvey will leave the retailer following a restructure of its store support centre in Melbourne. Harvey confirmed he is leaving the supermarket chain when contacted by CIO on Wednesday morning. Coles said on Wednesday that 378 permanent positions and 60 contractor positions in the centre are no longer required. Fairfax Media, citing unnamed sources, yesterday reported that jobs would be cut across IT and other back-office functions such as payments and accounts. The report said supermarket chain was believed to have plans to outsource its IT department, with some roles sent offshore. Coles said in a statement today that it would not be sending any jobs offshore. There are 160 redeployment positions across the organisation and Coles said it would be working with the affected team members who may wish to move into these roles. Coles said the changes would simplify systems and processes, allowing for a more efficient and productive organisation to support more than 2200 supermarkets, Coles Express and Liquor outlets across Australia. Conrad Harvey was initially hired as a program director for a merchandising systems refresh project, before taking on the role of general manager of IT strategy, architecture and program delivery in 2004. He became IT group general manager across a team of more than 700 staff following Wesfarmers’ acquisition of Coles Group in 2007. He was heavily involved in the transformation under Wesfarmers. In an interview with CIO in July, Harvey said one of his biggest customer achievements over the last five years was deploying automated replenishment, which improved the availability and efficiency of Coles’ supply chain. Coles’ managing director John Durkan said the restructure would lead to a learner store support centre and enable increased investment in Coles’ store network across Australia. “To be a world class retailer, Coles needs to invest further in new stores, in renewing existing stores and in better service and value for our customers,” he said. Coles will spend $1.1 billion on 70 stores across Australia between 2014 and 2016. Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter:@ByronConnolly Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe