Morrisons first warned about potential closures last year

Morrisons is shutting the sites because it has been left with too many depots following its �3bn acquisition of former rival Safeway in March 2004.

The company first warned back in September that the depots were at risk.

Workers at the Aylesford and Bristol sites were told of the planned closure at lunchtime.

'Alternative roles'

Morrisons says it has more depots than it needs to supply its stores.

A third depot in Warrington was closed in December with the loss of 700 jobs.

"We are aiming to minimise redundancies as far as possible and will be talking about alternative roles within Morrisons," the company said in a statement.

The company was forced to sell about 200 stores by competition regulators after the Safeway deal and has since closed other outlets.

The Safeway deal transformed Morrisons into the fourth-biggest food retailer in the UK but has also led to a series of profit warnings.

The Bradford-based grocer posted its first loss in its 106-year history in October, which it blamed on the cost of integrating Safeway.