Thousands of jobs at retailer Wilko are at risk after the firm confirmed it has entered redundancy consultation with nearly 4,000 staff, with the economic effects of Brexit blamed.

A spokesman for the discount chain, which is due to open a branch at Worcester's new Cathedral Square development, said that changes are required to “ensure it is best placed to continue to thrive within an ever-changing retail landscape”.

Wilko said it is consulting with 3,900 of its store supervisory team about a new management structure, alongside trade union the GMB.

It added that 1,000 new senior supervisor roles will be created as part of the shake-up, as well as a “significant amount” of customer service roles.

The move comes after Wilko posted an 80 per cent plunge in pre-tax profits to £5.1 million in the year to January 28, with the firm pointing to “uncertain economic and geopolitical events”, the collapse in sterling and the introduction of the national living wage.

It is not believed that the redundancies will affect the Worcester store, which is due to open in November.

Anthony Houghton, Wilko’s retail director, said: “Despite the challenging retail landscape, Wilko has seen both positive customer numbers and like-for-like sales growth this year. This is not translating into positive results despite all the hard work to reduce costs, grow own-brand and digital sales.

“Following independent studies we identified a legacy of retail structures that created complexity to manage which aren’t simple, fair or transparent for our team members. The simpler newly defined store structure will give teams greater variety within their roles and result in more team hours on the shop floor, delivering a better customer experience.”

This follows similar moves at other retailers. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda all plan to axe a significant number of jobs.