Tesco has revealed plans to slash the bonuses of its 5,000 highest-paid managers as part of activity to spread the impact of its recent rollercoaster results.

Tesco will unveil the exact details of the bonuses in its annual report next week, but has been forced to release a statement after a leaked letter from CEO Philip Clarke revealed performance-related bonuses would be just 16.9% of the maximum compared with last year’s 100% bonus payout

”Tesco’s top 5,000 leaders, including the executive directors, all have genuinely performance-linked incentives and these are closely aligned,” the statement said. “We will announce full details in our annual report and those at the top of the company will take their share of the impact of last year’s results.”

The move is rumoured to have caused a further dent to the morale of staff, who Clarke has already admitted are under pressure because of a lack of investment in its stores.

Clarke brought in a performance-related scheme for the top 5,000 managers, aligning pay with the group’s performance. He has also scrapped share options and placed executives on incentive-based pay schemes, a move to placate angry shareholders.

Tesco hopes the latest actions will show shareholders that its executives are sharing the pain of its recent woes. It follows Clarke’s announcement of a fight-back strategy that includes the revamp of hundreds of stores and an extra 8,000 staff in a bid to improve in store service levels.

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