Sainsbury's to cut 500 jobs at store support centres

LONDON (Reuters) - Supermarket Sainsbury's said on Tuesday it would axe 500 jobs across its store support centres as part of a wider cost cutting push designed to fund cheaper prices.

The firm, which last week warned of another tough year for mainstream supermarkets in the face of price wars and competition from discount chains, said the job cuts formed part of a 500 million pounds cost savings target over three years outlined in November.

Sainsbury's operates over 1,200 supermarkets and convenience stores and employs around 161,000 staff.

Last week troubled market leader Tesco said it planned to take 30 percent of costs out of its central operations. It said the savings included the closure of its head office.

(Reporting by Neil Maidment; Editing by James Davey)