Tesco has announced plans to close eight pharmacies as part of a shake-up of how it runs its larger stores.

The supermarket chain announced its restructuring proposals earlier today (January 31). In addition to the pharmacy closures, the plans include shutting its national operations centre in Milton Keynes and axing 1,750 team and lead manager roles and replacing them with the new and lower-paid role of shift leader.

Tesco said it would seek to help affected staff find alternative roles within the business. Pharmacy Network News has approached the company regarding how many pharmacy roles are to be affected by the plans, and which of its more than 220 pharmacies are to close.

The decision marks the third announcement of supermarket pharmacy closures in less than a fortnight. LloydsPharmacy announced on January 19 that it will withdraw from all its Sainsbury’s branches by the end of this year, while Asda announced last week that seven of its pharmacies will close “due to low customer usage”.

Tesco UK and ROI chief executive officer, Jason Tarry, said: "These are difficult decisions to make, but they are necessary to ensure we remain focused on delivering value for our customers wherever we can, as well as ensuring our store offer reflects what our customers value the most.

"Our priority is to support those colleagues impacted and help find alternative roles within our business from the vacancies and newly created roles we have available."

A Pharmacists’ Defence Association spokesperson told Pharmacy Network News: “We did not get advance notice but will be supporting our members to ensure they understand and can exercise their rights in this situation. 

“All PDA members at Tesco should look out for communications from the PDA Union.”

Daniel Adams, national officer of the Usdaw union, said: "Tesco has informed us that they are looking to undertake restructures across the business. Clearly there is no good time to receive news like this, but it is especially difficult in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and will be devastating for those who may be affected.

"Usdaw will be entering into collective consultation with Tesco immediately to interrogate these proposals. We will be doing all we can to support members throughout the process with a view to protecting jobs and, where this is not possible, securing the best possible deal for those affected."