Tesco is to slash 400 store and head office jobs as its UK CEO Matthew Barnes said the supermarket searches for “new, more efficient ways of working”.

It comes as part of a plan to “simplify” the business following a “more competitive than ever” grocery sector.

The grocer has started speaking to colleagues about a string of proposed changes across its head office and stores, including changing its bakery model in some stores and updating its management structure in Tesco Mobile phone shops.

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Barnes said: “These are difficult decisions affecting our colleagues, but we believe they are necessary to enable us to invest in what matters most to our customers.

“Our priority is to support impacted colleagues, and we will do everything we can to help them find alternative roles within our business. Today, we have almost 1,000 vacancies available.”

It comes as Tesco moves ahead with plans to invest in a new distribution centre in Aylesford, as it prepares to begin a consultation in the coming days over the closure of its Snodland Distribution centre.

It said the Aylesford site is larger with new technology and improved facilities for colleagues and support its growth “long into the future”.

All colleagues at the Snodland DC will be offered a role at the new site, which is three miles away.

Tesco is not the first UK grocer to push ahead with a major cost-cutting drive as of late.

Last week, Morrisons unveiled plans to cut over 200 jobs in its retail people team, while Sainsbury’s is slashing over 3,000 jobs cut, and earlier this month, Asda also revealed the axing of 13 regional managers as part of a senior shake-up.