BRITAIN’S largest union Unite demanded urgent talks with Tesco bosses today following reports that the retail giant is planning to axe up to 15,000 jobs.

Documents seen by the BBC allegedly showed the supermarket could be closing food counters, butcheries and bakeries in stores across the country.

More than 10,000 jobs have been cut since current chief executive Dave Lewis took over the company in 2014 , Unite said.

The company argues that intensive competition between supermarkets has led to these losses and that the majority of their 732 large-scale stores would be affected.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Arial; color: #272829} Usdaw national officer Pauline Foulkes said: “Staff at Tesco are shocked and dismayed by the scale of yet another round of potential job losses.

“We will enter into consultation talks with Tesco, where we will examine the business case for their proposed changes. In the meantime we are providing our members with the support, advice and representation they require at this difficult time.”

Unite national officer for retail distribution Adrian Jones said: “Our top priority this week is to arrange a meeting with Tesco’s management to get a clear picture of what the supermarket is planning.

“This is a very worrying time for our members who deliver to Tesco stores across Britain. While the reports centre on job losses in-store, such as at the bakeries and deli counters, we still need to know what this could mean for our members.

“What is required very quickly from Tesco is clarity on its intentions going forward.

“We will be giving our members, who are employed directly by Tesco, maximum support in the days and weeks ahead.”

Tesco is “finalising” its plans for redundancies, which are likely to be announced this week, and will not be commenting further.