Tesco set to make big change to stores after Rachel Reeves tax hike

is set to close some stores an hour earlier after a tax raid from Rachel Reeves to the tune of £235 million. The retail giant is said to be trialling shutting some of its Express stores at 10pm rather than 11pm. The smaller Express outlets often serve inner city and suburban locations.

staff will be employed in these branches when they are open for customers, reports. A spokesman told the newspaper the changes were expected to "make things simpler for our colleagues and to ensure that we are running these shops in the most efficient way".

The company's chief executive Ken Murphy had said the firm was urgently tackling extra costs following the Chancellor's tax changes will activated from April.

The change comes after Ken Murphy, Tesco's chief executive, said that the supermarket was racing to offset a wave of extra costs following the Chancellor's tax raid, which took effect from April.

Mr Murphy said Tesco would cut around £500 million in costs following the effects of the October Budget. He asked Mr Reeves to consider her taxes on employers, adding: "All we're saying as an industry is, don't make it too hard for us to keep delivering great value."

Among the key tax changes affecting the firm include a soaring staffing bill which has been hit by the increase in National Insurance contributions. Ms Reeves's reforms of NI payments for employers mean they now pay 15% up from 13.8% and the threshold for when the employer tax kicks in has fallen from £9,100 to £5,000.

Daniel Adams, Usdaw unionnational officer, said the union "has not agreed this change and we will be monitoring the trials closely to assess the impact on our members" when it came to the reduction in hours at Express stores.

He added: "The union has repeatedly raised issues with the business around the risks of low staffing and retain significant concerns around how this trial will work.

"While we have been assured by the company that they do not anticipate any redundancies from this process, we are aware it may involve staff transferring to other stores. That in itself can cause problems with travel, caring commitments and shift patterns."

A spokesman said: "These changes aren't visible to our customers, who will continue to receive the same great service they expect, and there are no changes to the range of products we sell."