The Co-op Group has said it will cut around 400 jobs as the retail and funeral firm blamed tough trading conditions amid “rising inflation”.
The company said none of its customer-facing roles in food stores or funeral homes will be impacted by the shake-up.
It is understood that the cuts will predominantly affect workers at its Manchester headquarters.
Around 4,000 support staff are employed by the Co-op Group, as part of a total workforce of 63,000 people.
In April, new chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq revealed that the firm's annual profits were slashed in half following supply chain disruption and higher costs.
The group said on Friday that it has had to bring forward changes which were originally proposed for next year due to the fragile economic backdrop.
A spokesman for the Co-op said: "At our last set of annual results, we shared that as part of our strategy, making our Co-op more efficient and cost-effective was a priority.
"The tough trading environment, including rising inflation, means we have taken the difficult decision to bring forward some of the changes we had planned for 2023.
"These changes, designed to simplify our approach to business, will sadly mean a number of colleagues in central functions will leave the business.
"There are no changes to customer-facing roles in our food stores and funeral homes and, where possible, we will reduce roles by not filling vacancies and through preferences to exit.
"We make these changes with a heavy heart, but it is the right thing to do for the long-term health of our Co-op and for all of our members."
Earlier this year, exclusive figures showed more than 130,000 UK manufacturing jobs have been lost since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Analysis by Labour shows every part of the country apart from Scotland suffered a fall in the number of workers employed in the sector.
Party researchers who examined Office for National Statistics data found a total of 2,675,387 people worked in British manufacturing in December 2019 - just as Covid-19 was beginning to be diagnosed in China.
But two years later, the numbers employed in the industry had plunged by 4.88% to 2,544,909.
The toll was greatest in the East of England where 27,273 jobs went, followed by 26,207 in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Millions of households face a “horrendous” time ahead as new figures confirm living costs have hit another 40-year high.
Experts warned the country to prepare for “profoundly difficult months to come”, with energy bills set to go through the roof and food prices predicted to leap.
The Office for National Statistics said the rocketing cost of food and fuel drove inflation to 9.4% last month.
Motorists saw pump prices surge by a record 42% year-on-year.
And food rose at the fastest rate since 2009, with cheese prices up more than 12% and milk by over 26%.
Economists warn inflation could spiral to an even worse than feared 12% later this year.
