Tesco restructures management, leading to job cuts

Supermarket group Tesco, Britain's largest retailer, announced Monday restructuring to its line-management, leading to job cuts and the creation of new roles.

The changes that will see 1,700 roles removed and 900 others created are a continuation of a restructuring programme initiated by chief executive Dave Lewis that has led to thousands of job cuts.

The latest shake-ups "remove complexity and will deliver a simpler, more helpful experience for colleagues and customers", said Matt Davies, chief executive of Tesco UK and Ireland.

"We recognise these are difficult changes to make but they are necessary to ensure our business remains competitive and set up for the future," he added in a statement.

Davies said Tesco hoped "to retain as many colleagues as possible in the new roles" and other current vacancies within the group.

Tesco has been troubled in recent years by an accounting scandal and fierce domestic competition from German discount chains Aldi and Lidl.

In a sign of its turnaround however, Tesco earlier this month announced a rise in sales over the key Christmas trading period, despite high UK inflation weighing on consumer incomes.

Tesco, which is the world's third-biggest supermarket chain after France's Carrefour and global leader Wal-Mart of the United States, is meanwhile close to completing a takeover of British wholesaler Booker, in a deal worth £3.7 billion ($5.2 billion, 4.2 billion euros).