Tesco to cut 1,700 jobs in new cost-cutting drive

In a new shake-up, Tesco (LON: TSCO) has announced plans that will put 1,700 jobs at risk.

The jobs at risk will be people managers, compliance managers and customer experience managers. These roles will be shifted to 900 new roles as an attempt to save costs.

“These changes remove complexity and will deliver a simpler, more helpful experience for colleagues and customers. We recognise these are difficult changes to make but they are necessary to ensure our business remains competitive and set up for the future,” said Matt Davies, chief executive of Tesco’s UK and Ireland business.

“We hope to retain as many colleagues as possible in the new roles we have created and in the vacancies we currently have available.”

The UK’s biggest supermarket chain is carrying out the latest in a number of job cuts to try and save £1.5 billion from Tesco’s cost base.  Last year, up to 1,200 head office jobs were cut from UK stores. Tesco’s Cardiff call centre is also due to close later this month, with a loss of 1,100 jobs.

Tesco is not the only major supermarket to implement new cost-saving plans in order to keep up with discounters Aldi and Lidl. Sainsbury’s, Morrisons (LON: MRW), Waitrose and Asda have all cut jobs as attempts to keep costs down.

Sainsbury’s (LON: SBRY) announced in October that it would be slashing 2,000 store and back office roles as it hopes to cut costs by £500 million.

“The UK grocery market is changing at a rapid pace and it’s crucial that we transform the way we operate to meet future challenges and continue to provide customers with best in class service,” said a spokesperson from the chain.

“This has been a difficult decision and we appreciate that this will be a tough time for those colleagues affected by the changes,” they added.