Some Tesco ‘Express Lite’ stores will be closing at 10pm instead of 11pm, the company has confirmed, while promising that shoppers will continue to receive the same ‘great service’
A number of Tesco stores will be changing their opening hours as the supermarket reportedly aims to cut staffing costs.
Britain’s biggest supermarket chain is implementing the change at a number of Express stores that are less profitable and are referred to as “Express Lite” shops internally. The affected shops will now be closing at 10pm instead of 11pm.
It is also understood that fewer staff members will be running those stores during opening hours. A spokesman for the supermarket said the changes aimed to “make things simpler for our colleagues and to ensure that we are running these shops in the most efficient way.” They said the trial is taking place in a small number of stores but didn’t confirm exactly how many.
READ MORE: Tesco shoppers fume over big yellow sticker change across supermarket stores
After the news emerged, union leaders voiced concerns and said the changes to the affected supermarkets risked creating problems for staff.
Daniel Adams, Usdaw national officer, said the union “has not agreed this change and we will be monitoring the trials closely to assess the impact on our members.” He added: “The union has repeatedly raised issues with the business around the risks of low staffing and retain significant concerns around how this trial will work.
“While we have been assured by the company that they do not anticipate any redundancies from this process, we are aware it may involve staff transferring to other stores. That in itself can cause problems with travel, caring commitments and shift patterns.”
Tesco is understood to be speaking to affected staff, taking into account individual circumstances if workers need to transfer to different stores. No redundancies for staff are expected, it is understood. A spokesperson for the company said the new changes “aren’t visible” to customers who “will continue to receive the same great service they expect, and there are no changes to the range of products we sell.”
A Tesco spokesperson told The Mirror: “Our Express format is a strong and growing business, providing great value and convenience for customers on their doorstep. In a small number of stores, we are trialling some tweaks to our operational routines to make things simpler for our colleagues and to ensure that we are running these shops in the most efficient way. These changes aren’t visible to our customers, who will continue to receive the same great service they expect, and there are no changes to the range of products we sell.”
The trial comes after Tesco made a big change to the bakery aisle across its supermarket stores, pushing back the time it starts discounting items in the afternoon. The supermarket – alongside other major UK supermarket chains – reduces the price of its freshly baked pastries each day in a bid to prevent food waste. The discounts allow shoppers to pick up a croissant, normally priced at £1.20, for just 60p.
Previously, Tesco would cut the prices from around 5pm. However, shoppers have noticed this time has been pushed back by around two hours until 7pm. Tesco has confirmed the change, but did not confirm when it was introduced across its stores. It also noted that it does vary from store to store, but it generally offers discounts on pastry items from 7pm.
Shoppers took to the Extreme Bargains UK Facebook group to share their frustrations with the change. In a post highlighting it, one person said: “Been around for ages now, used to be 5pm but they changed it to 7pm to fit in line with reductions on fridge and other bakery items.”
