Up to 70 redundancies on the cards as Tesco enters talks with managers

Up to 70 voluntary redundancies could be on the cards for Tesco’s Irish staff.

Tesco has said the review of its staff levels in Ireland is unrelated to the accounting scandal that has plagued the company this week, prompting it to bring in its new chief financial officer, Alan Stewart, two months earlier than planned.

The British retailer admitted earlier this week that it had begun a probe into its accounting practices when it was revealed it had over-stated its profit guidance by about €317m for the first half of the year.

Tesco confirmed to RTÉ News yesterday it is in early-stagetalks with its Irish departmental store managers to see if any would be willing to apply for voluntary redundancy or to be redeployed to other roles within the group.

Tesco also said it is offering Irish staff the opportunity to move from full-time positions to part-time hours. It was not immediately clear exactly how many positions will be affected.

The retailer also said that it keeps the structure of its business under constant review to ensure it delivers the best service to customers.

Tesco employs about 15,000 people across Ireland and stressed that any redundancies that arise as a result of its strategic review would be voluntary.

The UK Financial Reporting Council — a watchdog with the authority to make companies restate their accounts — said yesterday that it has begun monitoring Tesco over the discrepancies in its accounts. Tesco has already suspended four executives this week over the overblown profit estimates.

Business Post News Service