Tesco becomes latest grocer to axe jobs in efficiency drive

Tesco, the UK’s biggest retailer, is to shed 400 positions in stores and at head office in what UK chief executive Matthew Barnes described as efforts to adopt “new, more efficient ways of working”, The Grocer reported. 

The cuts at Tesco follow 3,000 at Sainsbury’s and 200 at Morrisons last week and reflect, according to Barnes, a need to simplify operations in a grocery market that is “more competitive than ever”.

Proposed changes include modification of the bakery model in some branches and a new management structure at Tesco Mobile phone stores.

Barnes 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.”

Tesco employs around 300,000 people – the vast majority of which are in the UK. 

Many retailers have cost-saving programmes in progress. As well as being driven by the need to operate as efficiently as possible, last autumn’s Budget brought further increases in the costs of employing people, notably changes to national insurance rules.