FILE PHOTO - Customers walk in front of a Sainsbury's store in south London May 14, 2008. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico

(Reuters) - Sainsbury’s, Britain’s second biggest supermarket group behind Tesco, is seeking to cut up to 2,000 jobs, mainly in its payroll and human resources departments, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

Sainsbury’s is consulting on measures that would lead to a loss of 1,400 jobs by removing all in-store human resource and payroll clerk roles, the spokesman said.

Some 600 further job losses will come from a restructuring to consolidate human resource and other support roles, the statement added.

“Following a comprehensive review, we are proposing some updates to our HR structures and systems, as well as changes to a number of other support roles, subject to consultation,” the spokesman said.

Sky News had earlier reported the UK-based supermarket group is cutting 2,000 jobs.

The rise of privately-owned budget chains Aldi and Lidl has transformed the competitive landscape of British food retailing over the last decade, driving down the returns of Britain’s big four players - market leader Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.

Sainsbury’s was considering cutting 1,000 jobs as part of a drive to save 500 million pounds in costs, media reports said in August.

In March, the company had revealed it was cutting 400 jobs in a restructuring of its store operations.