Tesco to cut 4,500 jobs across 153 Metro stores

Supermarket giant Tesco says about 4,500 staff in 153 Tesco Metro stores are set to lose their jobs in the latest round of redundancies.

The UK’s largest grocer said changes to the way the stores operated would “serve shoppers better” and help to “run our business more sustainably”.

It said the stores were operating in an increasingly competitive and challenging retail environment.

Tesco boss Jason Tarry said the firm did not take the jobs decision lightly.

The company said the Metro format was originally designed for larger, weekly shops, but now nearly 70% of customers used them as convenience stores, buying food for that day.

It said that changes to the stores would now include:

faster and simpler ways of filling shelves, with fewer products stored in back rooms and more stock going straight to the shop floor
staff working more flexibly across the store to improve customer service at the busiest times of the day and in the right areas of the store
a leaner management structure.

“In a challenging, evolving retail environment, with increasing cost pressures, we have to continue to review the way we run our stores to ensure we reflect the way our customers are shopping and do so in the most efficient way,” Mr Tarry added.

Tesco Metro shops are sized between Tesco superstores and Tesco Express shops. They first opened in 1994.

It is also making some changes in 134 of its 1,750 Express stores, where customer footfall is lower.

Changes in those stores will include “a slight reduction in opening hours during quieter trading periods at the start and end of the day, and simplifying stock routines”.

It comes as rivals Aldi and Lidl put pressure on the big four supermarkets.

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