ASDA has announced a major restructure that puts 5,000 jobs at risk, including 3,000 back office workers.
The supermarket says the change is due to a move towards online shopping, sped up by the pandemic.
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The supermarket says the change is due to a move towards online shopping
Millions of vulnerable and self-isolating Brits have been relying on the online service for food while they follow stay at home orders.
Asda has doubled its delivery capacity from 450,000 a week in March to over 700,000 now, with the most vulnerable shoppers getting access to priority slots.
The grocery giant also plans to create 4,500 jobs in its online operations this year and will look to re-hire staff who’ve been let go under the restructuring plans.
Nevertheless, Asda said the consultations will impact about 3,000 back office store workers, particularly affecting staff with cash and administrative roles amid the continued slump in cash transactions.
The firm said it plans to close its Dartford and Heston home shopping centres, with around 800 jobs affected, as it looks to shift more picking operations into stores.
It added that around 1,100 of its store management roles will be changed to support online grocery operations as more picking takes place in stores.
However, the company said this could increase the total headcount in these roles by around 60, as part of the consultations.
Roger Burnley, Asda chief executive officer and president, said: “The pandemic has accelerated change across the retail sector especially the shift towards grocery home shopping and our priority is to serve customers in the way they want to shop with us.
“The last 12 months have shown us that businesses have to be prepared to adapt quickly to change and I am incredibly proud of the way we demonstrated our agility and resilience through the pandemic.
“We know that these proposed changes will be unsettling for colleagues and our priority is to support them during this consultation process.
“Our plans to transform the business will result in more roles being created than those we propose to remove and our absolute aim is to ensure as many colleagues as possible stay with us, as well as creating the opportunity to welcome new people to our business.”
It comes months after the billionaire Issa brothers and private equity backer TDR Capital agreed a £6.8 billion deal for the supermarket chain.
The takeover is still awaiting approval from competition regulators, so the new owners are yet to take control of Asda’s operations.
