UK retailer Tesco axes 4,500 jobs

LONDON, Aug 06 (AFP): Supermarket giant Tesco said Monday it is to axe about 4,500 jobs across its city-centre UK stores to slash costs.

Tesco, which is Britain's biggest retailer, will carry out a "reduction of around 4,500 colleagues" as the group experiences "an increasingly competitive and challenging retail environment", it said in a statement.

The job cuts, equivalent to about one per cent of Tesco's worldwide workforce, come after the company axed 9,000 roles in January.

The latest job cuts will be at Tesco's Metro stores, largely found in city and town centres across the UK.

"The changes in our Metro stores will be focused on better tailoring them to how our customers shop," the company said.

"The Metro format was originally designed for larger, weekly shops, but today nearly 70 per cent of customers use them as convenience stores, buying food for that day."