Tesco plans to remove 1,700 managerial jobs

Tesco announced on Feb. 27 that it will change the way it runs its Express convenience store to improve the shopping experience of customers and simplify its business. Part of the change will be to replace 1,700 deputy managers to 3,300 new shift leaders that will increase staff numbers by 1,600.

The new structure is part of a program of transformation to meet customer needs and ensure that Tesco manages to keep up with its competitors in the rapidly changing retail industry. It also comes on top of the 1,000 job reductions announced by Tesco last January to cut the number of its distribution centers. Tracey Clements, managing director of convenience at Tesco, aims to have more people on the shop floor more often to help improve the service to customers in its Express stores.

"To help achieve this we are creating more than 3,300 Shift Leader roles which, in turn, means we will no longer have Deputy Managers," he said in a press release statement. "We appreciate that these changes will impact our Deputy Manager colleagues, and will do everything we can to support them throughout this period." Following the announcement, approximately 1,700 deputy managers will begin consultation and will be offered new shift leader positions or alternative roles in other Tesco stores.

Meanwhile, there is a decreasing demand for weekly shops at large out-of-town stores and this has forced UK's supermarket groups to revise plans for expansion. This month saw Waitrose close six supermarkets while removing 700 jobs in the process, along with the removal of 180 department managers in its 350 stores. Tesco, on the other hand, currently operates 1,800 Express stores across the UK. The latest sales figures, which covers the Christmas period up to Jan. 7, show that Tesco sales are up to 0.7 percent in the UK. Tesco also plans to buy the food wholesale group Booker on top of its new management structure.