Tesco has said it will cut 400 jobs as part of plans to ‘simplify’ the business amid a market that is ‘more competitive than ever’.
The supermarket giant said managers in its head office and Tesco Mobile phone shops, as well as staff at its in-store bakeries, will be affected.
Matthew Barnes, Tesco’s UK boss, said: ‘These are difficult decisions affecting our colleagues, but we believe they are necessary to enable us to invest in what matters most to our customers.
‘Our priority is to support impacted colleagues and we will do everything we can to help them find alternative roles within our business. Today, we have almost 1,000 vacancies available.’
The supermarket has begun talking to colleagues about proposed changes in stores and head offices as it looks for more efficient ways of working.
Tesco also announced today that it would to launch a consultation over the closure of its Snodland Distribution Centre, in Kent, in the next few days.
Tesco announced 400 job losses across its stores and head office
Matthew Barnes, Tesco’s UK boss (pictured) , said: ‘These are difficult decisions affecting our colleagues, but we believe they are necessary to enable us to invest in what matters most to our customers’
It said this follows plans to open a new warehouse site in Aylesford, around three miles away, with all affected workers at Snodland being offered roles at the new site.
Earlier this month, Tesco bosses cheered the retailer’s ‘biggest ever Christmas’ as it increased its share of the UK grocery market to its highest level since 2016.
It reported UK and Ireland like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, up 3.7% over the six weeks to January 4 and record trading in the week before Christmas.
The cuts at Tesco come a week after rival Sainsbury’s said it would axe around 3,000 jobs as part of a major overhaul.
The UK’s second-largest grocer will close down its in-store cafes and remove its pizza and hot food counters from stores as a result.
Thousands of jobs at Morrisons and Sainsbury’s are also set to be axed after Rachel Reeves’ Budget hit businesses with a major costs rise (stock image of Sainsbury’s)
Fellow rival Morrisons said it planned to cut around 200 jobs earlier this month, while Asda cut 475 head office jobs in November as part of efforts to arrest a recent slump in performance.
All retailers were among firms to warn that jobs will be impacted by Labour’s autumn Budget, which included plans to increase National Insurance contributions for businesses and rise the minimum wage.
Andrew Griffith, the Conservatives’ shadow business secretary, said: ‘With all the big four supermarkets having announcing job cuts, Labour’s choices are having the real-world impact we predicted.’
