Tesco begins laying off some of its 45,000 temporary workers

Supermarket giant Tesco has reportedly begun laying off some of the 45,000 temporary workers it hired to help meet the surge in demand during the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Telegraph, some of the job cuts have come earlier than expected with temporary staff in one store only receiving seven days notice.

Tesco brought in around 45,000 temporary workers at the height of the outbreak to deal with the surge in demand from panic-buying shoppers as lockdown began. At the time Tesco said it had around 51,000 members of staff who were absent due to Covid-19 related reasons. 

Now, with Tesco CEO Dave Lewis telling the BBC that it is beginning to welcome back the majority of its staff who were absent and the initial stockpiling demand calming down it is believed that fewer staff in both stores and depots will be needed. 

Tesco has been contacted for comment.

The news comes after Tesco was forced to defend its £635m dividend payout to shareholders, despite it receiving a £585m tax break amid the pandemic.

Earlier this month the company’s board approved a final dividend of 6.50p, bringing the full-year dividend to 9.15p. Tesco chairman John Allan said paying its shareholders was the “right thing to do” after they backed the grocer through a five-year accounting scandal.