Tesco announced the nationwide cull of 43 premises amongst falling profits and share prices.

Now a question mark hangs over Barrhead’s Kelburn Street branch of the supermarket giant, while unions have urged Tesco to drop plans to shed staff.

Tesco bosses have said that they are not prepared to comment on individual stores until a consultation on which stores will face the axe has been completed this month.

A spokesman for Tesco told The News: “Currently we can not comment on which stores will be affected by the closures as the consultation on which stores will be affected has not been completed.

“The consultation started last week and once it is complete we will be informing the staff of the affected stores first and then opening discussions with the media and the community.” The changes are part of a major shakeup of the entire company spearheaded by new CEO Dave Lewis.

Mr Lewis hopes to shave £250 million off the company’s annual running costs with store closures and staff reduction, including the axing of around 3,000 staff at the company HQ in Cheshunt.

It was also announced that around 40 planned stores would also be shelved and investment plans cut for other stores, prompting major creditors to reduce the company credit rating.

However the stock exchange saw shares in the business jump by more than 15 per cent.

And while Dave Lewis did not put a figure on potential job losses, he admitted: “This is a significant restructuring of a significant-sized business.” With 314,000 UK staff Tesco is the UK’s biggest private sector employer, and with a goal to reduce head office costs by 30 per cent the job losses are expected to be substantial.

Commenting on the plans, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) national officer Pauline Foulkes said: “While the announcement was well received by the Stock Exchange, the same cannot be said for staff. They feel completely let down by both the content and nature of the turnaround proposals and the manner in which they found out.

“Usdaw is calling on the new chief executive Dave Lewis to ensure that the staff are respected and valued throughout this turnaround programme. The company must listen, engage and meaningfully consult staff and Usdaw representatives, acknowledging that they will play a huge part in turning Tesco around.

“Usdaw’s priorities are to: obtain the list of stores earmarked for closure; maintain good pension provision for all Tesco staff; provide clarity for team leaders and line managers in relation to the new management structure, and do everything possible to keep staff employed in the business and job losses to a minimum.” She added: “Usdaw is pressing for immediate dialogue with the company to address these matters in full and seeking to improve communication and information channels to staff. We are committed to supporting, representing and protecting our members and reps during this difficult period and we will be seeking the best possible outcome for them.” Tesco has been under mounting pressure to change its fortunes since it announced a massive £263 million hole in its profits.

The drop was unaccounted for in profit predictions and sent the company reeling, prompting it to hire Dave Lewis, formerly of Unilever, the company behind many hygiene brands.

The cull means the equivalent of two million square feet of new Tesco supermarket space will not be built.

It is understood that the majority of the 43 store to be affected by any closure will be the chain’s “Express” outlets.