Tesco to cut 400 jobs as it moves to ‘more efficient’ working
Tesco has announced plans to cut more than 400 jobs in a bid to improve efficiency at the grocer, following in the footsteps of Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
The supermarket giant said that the “more competitive than ever” market means it must “work hard… to offer our customers unrivalled value”.
“This means always being open to new, more efficient ways of working,” the London-listed chain added.
Changes include an updated bakery model in some stores, as well as a change in management structure in Tesco Mobile phone shops.
It is unclear whether Tesco’s decision has anything to do with the government’s change to employers national insurance, which has encouraged a spate of grocers to bring forward cost-cutting plans.
Morrisons is set to axe 200 staff from its retail people team, while Sainsbury’s will cut more than 3,000 roles as it prepares to close all its remaining in-store cafes. Asda has also announced job cuts in recent months.
The change to employer’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will add £250m to Tesco’s wage bill per year, equal to around nine per cent of its expected profit for this financial year.
The grocer has previously said it will aim to limit the inflationary impact but hasn’t ruled out higher prices, and has warned the government that the speed of the NIC change will lead to slower growth and fewer jobs.
However, this move follows a similar strategy to previous job cuts, with the change made in pursuit of both simplification and efficiency.
Tesco cut more than 2,000 roles in 2023, and in 2019 it shed more than 9,000 roles, with both decisions due to a change in the way it ran its deli counters.
From 2014 to 2024, it axed more than 20,000 roles. .
‘Difficult decisions’
“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,” Tesco UK CEO Matthew Barnes said.
“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.”
Usdaw national officer Daniel Adams said the news was “devastating for those affected, particularly so soon after the announcement of the company’s strong Christmas results.”
“Tesco have informed Usdaw of their proposals and we will now enter into consultation with the company, with a view to keeping as many staff as possible employed within the business and securing the best possible deal for our members,” Adams added.