WIRRAL jobs could be at risk as new Tesco boss Dave Lewis wielded the axe today as he announced 43 store closures.

Thousands will be left fearful for their jobs in the closure of unprofitable sites while Tesco will also abandon its headquarters in Cheshunt in 2016 after more than 40 years, and 49 stores in the pipeline are being cancelled.

Tesco is not yet disclosing the locations of the 43 stores to close but Mr Lewis revealed that a "significant proportion" would be its Express convenience shops.

The sites will be spread across the country. The chief executive would not give any guidance on the scale of the jobs to be lost or whether they were likely to be in the thousands. Head office jobs will also see cuts as overheads are slashed by 30%.

Employees will start to learn over coming months where the axe will fall as Tesco begins consultations with those affected with full details set to be known by April.

Tesco has a number of superstores and express stores across Wirral, see map below.

The chief executive, who took over in September confronted by the worst sales performance for Tesco in four decades, said the decisions he was taking today were "never easy".

Staff at Britain's biggest supermarket will also be hit by the closure of the group's final salary pension scheme.

Mr Lewis said: "We have some very difficult changes to make. I am very conscious that the consequences of these changes are significant for all stakeholders in our business but we are facing the reality of the situation.

"Our recent performance gives us confidence that when we pull together and put the customer first we can deliver the right results."

The update cheered the City, sending shares up 10% - despite a final dividend for the year being cancelled - as Tesco revealed that like-for-like sales over the key Christmas period fell by just 0.3%.

It was a marked improvement on earlier declines and much better than City forecasts.

Tesco also said today it was selling its broadband business and its UK download brand Blinkbox to TalkTalk, in a deal understood to be worth £5 million. It has asked Goldman Sachs to explore options for its dunnhumby retail data business.