Tesco to cut 1,800 jobs as it plans to cut back on in-store bakeries
TESCO is to axe more than 1,800 jobs as part of changes to its in-store bakeries, the supermarket has announced.
The retailer plans to convert 58 of its bakeries to only be able to finish off pre-baked products in store, rather than bake goods from scratch on site.
In 201 branches, only the most popular items will be baked from scratch, while 257 bakeries will stay the same.
The supermarket says that in recent years customers have shifted away from traditional baked goods in favour of wraps, bagels and flatbreads.
The changes are due to come into force in May and means a fresh wave of job cuts as Tesco scales back its bakery operations.
Up to 1,816 members of staff are at risk of redundancy as part of the overhaul.
Your rights if you're made redundant
IF you're being made redundant, you may be eligible for the below, according to GOV.UK.
- Redundancy pay: If you’ve been working for your current employer for at least two years, you’re usually entitled to a statutory redundancy pay.
- A notice period: According to redundancy law, you’re entitled to a minimum notice period of 12 weeks’ if employed for 12 years or more, at least one week’s notice if you have been employed between one month and two years, or one week’s notice for each year if employed between two and 12 years. If your employer doesn’t want you to work your notice period they can offer you a lump sum instead.
- A consultation with your employer: Employers always have to consult with employees before dismissing them on the grounds of redundancy. In short, your employer must tell you what’s going on and give you a chance to ask questions and raise objections.
- The option to move into a different job: Your employer might offer you “suitable alternative employment” within your organisation or an associated company. Keep in mind that you may lose your right to statutory redundancy pay if you unreasonably turn it down.
- Time off to find a new job: If you’ve been continuously employed for two years, you could be given a reasonable amount of time off to look for another job or to arrange training to help you find another job.
Jason Tarry, Tesco’s UK and ROI chief executive, said: “We need to adapt to changing customer demand and tastes for bakery products so that we continue to offer customers a market-leading bakery range in store.
“We know this will be very difficult for colleagues who are impacted, and our priority is to support them through this process.
“We hope that many will choose to stay with us in alternative roles.”
The supermarket said it will look to find other jobs for the staff, with “thousands of store vacancies” expected to be available across its network between now and May.
Tesco had aimed to make £1.5billion worth of cost savings by 2020, with more than 10,000 jobs being cut since top boss Dave Lewis’ takeover in 2014.
In August last year, the supermarket announced 4,500 job losses after cutting opening hours in its Express stores.
It was the second round of staff cuts of 2019, with 9,000 staff axed from its fish, meat and deli counters in January.
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It followed another round of job losses announced at the beginning of 2018.
Last month, we reported how Morrisons’ staff were reduced to tears as bosses revealed 3,000 management job cuts to creates 7,000 new shop floor roles.
The announcement came just days after rival Sainsbury’s announced it’s cutting hundreds of jobs at its HQ.