STAFF at Tesco Express stores in Trowbridge and Westbury are waiting to hear if their jobs are safe, after the company announced that around 4,500 staff in 153 Tesco Metro stores are set to lose their jobs in the latest round of redundancies and there will be changes in 134 of their 1,750 Express stores.

Chippenham's Metro store in Emery Gate is among those which will be affected. There are Tesco Express stories in Chippenham, Devizes, Trowbridge, where there are three stores, and Westbury, which has two stores.

Jason Tarry, CEO of Tesco, said: “In a challenging, evolving retail environment, with increasing cost pressures, we have to continue to review the way we run our stores to ensure we reflect the way our customers are shopping and do so in the most efficient way.

“We do not take any decision which impacts colleagues lightly, but have to make sure we remain relevant for customers and operate a sustainable business now and in the future.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “Our priority now is to support affected colleagues, helping find alternative roles within Tesco for as many as possible.”

Tesco also has Metro stores in Swindon town centre, Shrivenham and Cirencester