Asda is set to cut 200 senior jobs at its head office as part of a longterm effort to trim overheads, though the decision may also have been motivated by a poor Christmas performance, with Kantar suggesting that like-for-like sales may have been down by 3.5 per cent, the guardian.com reports.
The decision follows the discontinuation of 1,360 middle-management positions in 2014, though many of these employees were rehired by Asda’s online department.
“It’s well documented that in recent years, customers have radically changed the way they shop. We were the first of the big four to recognise this and launch a new strategy in 2013, yet the external pressures have accelerated at an increasingly rapid rate over the last 18 months,” an Asda spokesperson said.
“As a result, the industry faces major challenges and the certainty of permanent structural change. In the context of this, we also have to further change the way we do business.
“Today, we have started to talk to our colleagues in head office functions about what this means for them. We have made some difficult but necessary decisions but we must discuss these with our colleagues before we talk publicly.”
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
