By Gianluca Barbazza
Tesco announced yesterday that it has rebranded or shut down 13 of its discount store Jack’s, either incorporating them into larger Tesco supermarkets or shutting them down completely. About 130 employees will lose their jobs.
Jack’s, which was named after Tesco’s founder Jack Cohen, was launched in 2018 to celebrate the CEO’s centenary and was meant to be a strong more affordable counterpart to the German Lidl and Aldi.
After an unfortunate three-year run cycle, Tesco has found itself in ‘a pickle’ and decided that pulling the plug on seven of its Jack’s stores and turning the rest into Tesco outlets was the best solution.
Tesco delivery driver, Peppe Barese, 28, said: “It’s a tough decision and certainly not one that companies are happy to make.
“I can just say that I feel for my colleagues that are going to suffer the consequences of unemployment, especially during these tough times.”
Reinvesting in “things that matter”
In a recent interview with BBC News, Tesco current boss Jason Tarry said that the company is always looking “at how we can run our business as simply and efficiently as possible, so that we can reinvest in the things that matter the most to customers”.
The supermarket chain is also set to shut fish, meat and deli counters in 317 of its stores due to a lower demand. It will also install pay-at-pump systems at its petrol stations and end overnight restocking.
In the light of recent events, Tarry said that due to the changes in customer habits after the pandemic, these moves would help running the business as simply and as efficiently as possible.
‘As far as I know, supermarkets have made a lot of money during the pandemic. This whole situation really does not convince me’, said Rose Figliadigiacomo, 30, regular Tesco customer from south west London.
Tesco’s new policies could cost 1,600 people their jobs, according to the BBC. In a statement, Tesco said it would try offer alternative jobs to as many of its employees as possible – there are around 3,000 vacancies, it said.
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