Tesco Harlow Depot Closure: 800 Posts Axed

Tesco (Other OTC: TSCDY - news) has announced plans to close a depot in Essex, where 800 people are employed, as it creates 2,000 positions at other sites.

The company is closing the base in Harlow, around 30 miles north of London, as part of an upgrade of its delivery network.

New centres are opening in Reading and in Dagenham, east London.

A spokesman for Tesco said workers in Essex would be offered work at the new sites and that it hoped "to keep as many people in jobs as possible".

Reading is 76 miles away from Harlow, while Dagenham is around 25 miles away.

The closure of the depot would be keenly felt in Harlow, where one in 10 people (9.9%) are unemployed, compared to the national average of 7.9%.

One worker told local newspaper The Harlow Star: "There are people who have worked at this depot for over 20 years.

"They're not going to uproot their families and move to Reading or Dagenham."

Tesco said: "These openings will help us to provide a better service for our customers and reduce carbon emissions across our transport network.

"Overall, the number of people employed across our distribution network won't change significantly.

"There will be some impact on other Tesco sites as we ensure we have the right resources in the right places for our customers."