The reward from Tesco came as Britain’s biggest supermarket saw profits jump by 159% in the year to February and will be received by more than 220,000 staff
Tesco workers will get an average £300 “thank you” after the supermarket giant raked in a £2.3billion profit haul.
More than 220,000 staff will benefit from the perk. The £70million bonus comes on top of what Tesco said was its biggest ever staff pay rise. The reward came as Britain’s biggest supermarket saw profits jump by 159% in the year to February.
Tesco boss Ken Murphy said: “This strong performance reflects the hard work of colleagues across the whole group, and their commitment to serving our customers.” The “thank you” payments average £300 for a full-time store worker.
The grocer also announced plans to create 2,000 jobs at 70 new stores and in its technology and online arms. Tesco has benefited from troubles at arch rivals Asda and Morrisons. However, Mr Murphy claimed it was also its “most competitive ever”, with prices on 4,000 products cut by an average 12%.
The price that grocers have to pay for the goods they sell has begun to ease, allowing some of the savings to be passed on. However, Mr Murphy said cost pressures remain on some products, including chocolate, coffee, potatoes and olive oil.
He said: “Inflationary pressures have lessened substantially. However, we are conscious that things are still difficult for many customers, so we have worked hard to reduce prices and have now been the cheapest full-line grocer for well over a year.”
He went on: “We feel quite good about where we are at the moment but you can’t take your eye off the ball. There is a gentle improvement in customer sentiment so we feel quite confident.” The profits triggered criticism from the Unite union.
General secretary Sharon Graham said: “Tesco is raking in mountains of cash while families struggle to put food on the table because of sky high prices. Many companies have used the cost-of-living crisis to grab excessive profits. There is an epidemic of profiteering in our economy – the government has been missing in action and failed to curb it.”
Mr Murphy hit back, saying: “We have taken a balanced approach to running the business,” adding: “We are paying considerably more tax than three years ago.” He also confirmed that Tesco planned to unveil a new design for its Clubcard loyalty programme logo in the coming weeks after it lost a legal battle with discounter Lidl.
