A UK supermarket chain with branches in Welshpool, Newtown, Llandrindod Wells and Ystradgynlais could be set to announce a major series of job cuts.

Reports which surfaced over the weekend said as many as 15,000 jobs could be affected at Tesco stores, with the majority of the firms 732 major stores said to be at risk.

Tesco declined to comment officially on the claims but said it was "always looking at ways to run our business more simply and efficiently".

In an internal memo sent to staff, Tesco's Chief Operations Officer Tony Hoggett said changes were 'still being finalised'.

"We are committed to tell our colleagues first of any changes we make as we continue to refresh and simplify the way we serve customers in our stores," he told employees.

"These changes are still being finalised, but as a result of this leak and speculation, we will bring forward our communications to give more information as soon as possible.

"We recognise that any changes will be hard for impacted colleagues, and unsettling for everyone. Our priority is to support our colleagues throughout."

The firm employs over 300,000 people in the UK and it says it contributed £37.3 billion to the UK economy in 2016/17.

The main union which represents Tesco staff, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), said it was 'appalling' that staff had been kept in the dark about the cuts.

"Usdaw is seeking an urgent meeting with the company to clarify the situation, to examine the details of what changes they are proposing and what this means for staff," said a spokesperson.

"Our priority will be to press Tesco to confirm the details of their proposed changes to stop any further speculation. In the meantime Usdaw’s officials and reps are on hand to support our members and further updates will be provided once we have further information”.

Tesco, which is the UK's biggest grocery chain, is reportedly trying to make savings of £1.5bn.

In a trading update given last month, the firm's Chief Executive Dave Lew said the company was in a 'strong position' having delivered Christmas trading which was 'ahead of the market'.

"As a team we have achieved a lot in the last 19 weeks. In the UK we delivered significant improvements in our competitive offer and this is reflected in a very strong Christmas performance which was ahead of the market.

"We have more to do everywhere but remain bang on track to deliver our plans for the year and as we enter our centenary we are in a strong position.”