Discount supermarket chain Lidl is planning to axe around 70 roles at its head office as it looks to streamline its central operations.
The cuts are spread across all departments at the retailer’s headquarters in Tolworth, southwest London, The Grocer reported.
Head office staff have been informed of the restructure and a consultation process is expected to be completed in October.
A Lidl spokesperson told the publication: “As a fast-growing business with strong momentum, we’ve undertaken a review of our operations to ensure we’re set up with the right foundations to support our ambitious expansion plans, now and in the future.
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“These plans include the opening of 40 new stores this year alone, creating over 1,000 new jobs for store colleagues, with further ambitions to accelerate that growth in the years ahead.”
They added: “As part of this review, we’ve put forward necessary products that will impact some roles within our head office.
“No customer-facing roles will be affected, and no decisions will be made until the consultation period has fully concluded.
“These proposals are designed to streamline our operations, improve efficiency and strengthen our business model. While these decisions have not been made lightly, we are committed to supporting affected colleagues and will offer alternative roles where suitable.”
The German discounter is inching closer to overtaking Morrisons as the UK’s fifth largest supermarket. Lidl saw its market share rise to 8.3% over the three months to 13 July, narrowing the gap between its rival which saw its hold on the market fall to 8.4%, according to data by Worldpanel.
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