Tesco has today announced plans to “simplify its operational structures”, placing 1,700 jobs at risk in the UK.
The British supermarket said the changes are designed to “improve efficiency and give line managers clearer accountability for colleague and customer experience”.
As part of these changes, the roles of people manager and compliance manager will be removed from large stores and fulfilment centres in the UK.
The position of customer experience manager, present in 226 stores, will also be removed, which the company said will give line managers more direct accountability for customer service.
These changes will affect 1,700 members of staff who, Tesco said, will be supported to find alternative roles within the business wherever possible.
As a result of these changes, 900 new roles with broader remits will be created, working across multiple sites throughout distribution, stores and fulfilment. As part of this, a new colleague administration role will also be created to support management teams in each large store and fulfilment centre.
Tesco UK and Ireland CEO Matt Davies said: “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.
“Our priority now is to support affected colleagues through these changes in any way we can. 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 announcement follows a series of redundancies by the UK’s biggest supermarket in the past year as it comes under pressure from discount chains Aldi and Lidl.
In a bid to improve efficiencies and work more closely with its suppliers, last year Tesco acquired the UK’s largest grocery wholesaler Booker in a deal worth £3.7 billion.
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