Carrefour raises job cut target to 3,000 in French hypermarkets

PARIS (Reuters) - Carrefour plans to axe 3,000 jobs at its large hypermarket stores in France through a voluntary scheme, more than previously announced, a spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday.

The French retailer, which is aiming to boost sales and profits, previously aimed to cut about 1,230 jobs.

Under an offer made to unions on Friday, it could increase the number of potential voluntary departures by 1,770 through an additional early retirement scheme, the spokeswoman said, declining to comment on the costs and potential savings that the plan could generate.

The news was first reported by AFP.

The job cuts plan is currently being discussed with unions and entails departures via a conventional collective bargaining agreement.

Carrefour aims to sign an agreement with unions in mid-May and to carry out the plan in the second half of the year.

In January 2018, the group launched a five-year plan a year ago to cut costs, boost E-commerce investment and seek a partnership in China with tech giant Tencent .

The plan notably includes expanding into convenience stores to reduce exposure to large hypermarket stores and having a greater focus on organic products and private labels.

Carrefour achieved savings of 1.05 billion euros (892.82 million pounds) in 2018, the first year of the plan.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Caroline Pailliez)