Tesco set to ‘axe up to 15,000 jobs’

Fears that Tesco will axe 15,000 jobs emerged over the weekend, amid reports that Britain’s largest grocer is planning to overhaul some of its store operations as part of a £1.5bn cost-cutting plan.

Reports in the Mail on Sunday said today that thousands of employees in Tesco’s meat, fish and delicatessen counters face the firing line as a result of plans to reshape parts of the business.

The majority of Tesco’s 732 larger stores are likely to be affected by the plans, industry sources told the paper.

Such news come after a tough Christmas trading season for some of Britain's largest retailers, which have sought to revamp their operations in a bid to stem the tide of weakening consumer spending and plunging levels of footfall.

However, earlier this month Tesco largely bucked the gloomy retail trend after posting a rise in like-for-like sales in its best set of festive figures in nearly a decade.

A Tesco spokesperson declined to comment on whether as many as 15,000 jobs would be cut, but said in a statement: “We’re always looking at ways to run our business more simply and efficiently. Whenever we make changes in our business, colleagues are always the first to know.”

Last week the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported that there roughly 70,000 retail jobs were lost last year, as the sector struggled with rising costs, competition from rivals and weaker consumer spending.