Tesco set to cut 10,000 jobs in bid to halt slide

Britain’s biggest supermarket Tesco could cut up to 10,000 jobs as part of its attempts to halt a slide in profits, The Sunday Telegraph has reported.

The newspaper said up to 6,000 positions would be cut from Tesco’s head offices and the stores it has said it plans to close.

The rest would come from an overhaul in the way it runs its stores, including eliminating managerial roles.

A spokesman for Tesco declined to comment.

Chief executive Dave Lewis has started cutting costs, with the announcement in late January that up to 2,000 people could lose their jobs with the closing of 43 stores. It is also making savings by consolidating its head offices.

Tesco recently returned to sales growth for the first time since January 2014, suggesting attempts by Lewis to restore an image dented by a price war with discounters and an accounting scandal may be bearing fruit.

Sky News reported yesterday that the supermarket has also approached Archie Norman, a former chief executive and chairman of Tesco rival Asda, to replace Richard Broadbent as chairman.

* Reuters