Tesco has revealed plans to cut hundreds of roles across both its UK stores and head office as it looks for "more efficient ways of working".

Britain’s largest supermarket said that the decision comes as the grocery market becomes "more competitive than ever".

Tesco plans to change its bakery model in some stores, update its management structure in Tesco Mobile phone shops, and make changes at head office, impacting around 400 jobs in total.

“These are difficult decisions affecting our colleagues, but we believe they are necessary to enable us to invest in what matters most to our customers,” said Matthew Barnes, chief executive of Tesco UK.

The Tesco boss said that the company will prioritise supporting impacted staff by helping find them alternative roles. The company currently has 1,000 vacancies available.

The move comes as UK retailers face a challenging financial environment, with supermarket rival Sainsbury’s announcing last week that it plans to cut over 3,000 jobs as part of its strategy to simplify operations.

The supermarket chain will close its remaining 61 in-store cafés and shut down patisserie, hot food, and pizza counters. The company said that it would instead make these food items available directly in store aisles.

The restructuring includes a 20 per cent reduction in senior management roles, with changes aimed at creating faster decision-making and reducing costs. The supermarket currently employs 148,000 people and is in the midst of a three-year strategy to save £1 billion in operating costs.

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