100 local jobs on the line as Tesco announces plans to shake up bakery operation
AROUND 100 bakery staff in 34 Tesco stores across Northern Ireland are facing redundancy as part of group-wide cuts.
The grocery giant is cutting around 1,800 roles as part of changes to bakeries in Tesco’s large supermarkets.
The company confirmed two to three staff per large store will be affected in the cuts from May.
Tesco said it would convert 58 of its bakeries to be able to finish off pre-baked products in-store, and 201 sites will only bake some of its most popular items from scratch.
It said the move, which will not affect bakeries at another 257 sites, means it will need fewer staff members. It has 55 stores in Northern Ireland.
Jason Tarry, Tesco’s UK and Republic of Ireland chief executive, said: “We need to adapt to changing customer demand and tastes for bakery products, so that we continue to offer customers a market-leading bakery range in store.
“We know this will be very difficult for colleagues who are impacted and our priority is to support them through this process. We hope that many will choose to stay with us in alternative roles.”
Tesco said it would look to find other jobs for the staff, with “thousands of store vacancies” expected to be available between now and May.
A spokesman for Tesco said the firm was at the start of the consultation process.
“From May we are making the following changes in our large in-store bakeries. (We are) altering our space and range to cater to changing demand, including the increase in alternatives to traditional loaves.
“Due to some stores doing less scratch baking, as well as the simplified routines these changes will bring, we will unfortunately need fewer colleagues to work in these areas.
“At this difficult time, our priority will be to support those colleagues impacted, including finding an alternative role from the many thousands of vacancies we will have available across our store networks between now and May, for those who wish to stay with us.”
Retail NI chief executive, Glyn Roberts, said his thoughts were with the staff who are potentially losing jobs. “We wish them well and hope they have the opportunity to go on to further employment,” he added.
Mr Roberts said that bakery habits were changing for consumers and retailers and bakeries need to continue to evolve, whether they are small independent operators or part of larger retailers.
“There are members of ours who are bakeries and are very busy,” he said. “We have a seen a trend for many local butchers and bakers making a comeback over the last few years. We had dominance of larger supermarkets for 20 years, now people are seeking out alternatives.”
At 35.7%, Tesco has the biggest share of all the main operators in the Northern Ireland grocery market.