Morrisons to cut 1,500 management jobs

LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket operator Morrisons (MRW.L) plans to cut 1,500 management jobs while creating 1,700 lesser paid roles, following steps taken by larger rivals to lower costs.

Britain's big four food retailers - Tesco (TSCO.L), Sainsbury's (SBRY.L), Asda (WMT.N) and Morrisons - need to find savings to finance price cuts to better compete with discounters Aldi and Lidl, who are gaining market share.

Last month Tesco said it would cut a net 800 jobs, while Sainsbury's said management roles beneath that of store manager would go.

Morrisons said its re-structuring would result in a net increase in posts of around 200.

In addition, it said there are currently around 800 management vacancies in Morrisons stores, meaning affected managers will be given the opportunity to stay with the company.

"Very regrettably, there will be a period of uncertainty for some managers affected by these proposals," retail director Gary Mills said.

Morrisons reported better-than-expected Christmas sales.

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton and Jason Neely)