Tesco to axe 1,800 jobs in bid to scale-down its bakeries

The supermarket giant’s CEO, Jason Terry, wrote to staff telling them 1,816 jobs were at risk of redundancy in what he added would be a ‘difficult time’.

Bakeries at Tesco’s larger stores will be affected from May as part of plans to convert 58 bakeries to be able to finish off ‘pre-baked’ products.

Sheffield has a number of Tesco outlets with in-store bakeries- however it is currently unknown which if any of these stores will be hit by job losses.

The letter states: "I want to let you know about some changes we are making to our in-store bakeries across our large stores.

"Our bakeries are an important part of our offer for customers and will remain so. However, over recent years, we have seen a big shift in customer tastes and preferences.

"Customers are buying fewer traditional loaves of bread and are increasingly looking for a wider range of options, with sales of wraps, bagels and flatbreads growing.

"In light of this, we have undertaken a review to make sure our bakery operation is relevant for the way the market and our customers have evolved.

He added: "From May, we are making the following changes in our large in-store bakeries: Altering our space and range to cater to changing customer demand, including the increase in alternatives to traditional loaves.

"We will continue to offer scratch baking in 257 stores, but we're making some changes to our other bakeries.

“In 201 stores the most popular products will continue to be baked from scratch, with other products moving to part-baked.

"And in 58 stores we're converting the bakery to full bake-off where all products are delivered pre-prepared, then baked and finished in store."

Mr Terry added that his priority would be finding alternative roles for staff who have been affected.

It comes a year after Tesco said it would close fresh food counters in around 90 of its stores, as well as cutting head office roles.