Supermarket giant Tesco has announced plans to cut around 2,000 jobs as it restructures the way it runs stores.
It said around 1,750 team manager posts across larger stores were at risk, with a new tier of lower-paid shift leader positions coming in to manage shop floors. Around 120 roles in head office and 70 in a call centre in Milton Keynes are also at risk.
The company will also close certain food counters and hot delis at the end of February, due to a “significant decrease in demand” and will consult with affected staff about moving them to other roles in the business.
Company managers who take the new shift-leader positions will have their pay protected for two years, it said.
“We will realign our manager roles to ensure they are all of equal size and complexity, focusing on overall store performance and supporting our colleagues to serve their customers, communities and planet a little better every day,” a statement said.
Tesco has been rolling out a new management structure in 350 smaller superstores since 2019, and the decision has now been taken to extend the structure across larger superstores and Tesco Extra shops.
Tesco redundancies
Tesco to cut hundreds of jobs at regional offices
Tesco UK and Ireland CEO Jason Tarry said: “These are difficult decisions to make, but they are necessary to ensure we remain focused on delivering value for our customers wherever we can, as well as ensuring our store offer reflects what our customers value the most.
“Our priority is to support those colleagues impacted and help find alternative roles within our business from the vacancies and newly created roles we have available.”
The announcement yesterday coincided with news that Tesco would buy the Paperchase stationery brand after the company fell into administration. However, the supermarket chain will only buy the intellectual property and brand, not the shops, so more than 800 jobs at the card retailer are still at risk.
Shopworkers union Usdaw said it had been consulted by Tesco about the plans.
Daniel Adams, Usdaw national officer, said there was “no good time to receive news like this”, and that it would be devastating for those affected amid the current cost-of-living crisis.
“We will be doing all we can to support members throughout the process with a view to protecting jobs and, where this is not possible, securing the best possible deal for those affected,” he said.
Tesco added that there would be a small number of localised changes to roles, including the closure of eight in-store pharmacies, moving some overnight roles to daytime, and reducing hours in some Post Offices.
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Rival supermarket Sainsbury’s announced a similar restructure last year, closing a large number of in-store cafes and hot food counters.
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