Tesco to cut up to 10,000 jobs amid overhaul

Tesco could cut up to 10,000 jobs as part of a radical overhaul by chief executive Dave Lewis aimed at halting a slide in profits.

 

Britain’s biggest supermarket, which employs around 314,000 staff, announced plans last month to save £250m a year by axing 43 unprofitable stores, shelving 49 new projects and closing its Cheshunt head office.

 

Up to 6,000 Tesco jobs could go as a result of these changes, while the rest are at risk from a planned shake-up in the management of  its stores.

 

Consultations began at the end of January at its offices in Cheshunt and Welwyn Garden City, where staff have been offered the chance to apply for voluntary redundancy. 

 

The group also plans to remove a whole layer of management from shops, according to The Sunday Telegraph, with managers affected offered alternative roles.

 

Lewis, who was parachuted in last summer, wants to cut overhead costs at Tesco by 30 per cent, mirroring the cost-cutting drive he embarked on at Unilever that earned him the nickname “Drastic Dave”.

 

Kantar figures released last week showed that efforts to improve customer service, prices and product ranges were starting to pay off as Tesco sales returned to growth for the first time in a year. 

 

The company is still on the hunt for a new chairman to replace Sir Richard Broadbent. Archie Norman, the former boss of rival supermarket Asda and current ITV chairman, is the latest City boss to be touted for the job.