Major supermarket announces jobs may be at risk

Asda has explained to staff they will be removing a number of roles, reducing back office hours and conducting colleague consultations.

Asda’s proposal, which will apply to branches across the country, is to ‘restructure in order to focus on their online operation’.

An anonymous Asda staff member told the Herald, “We’ve done our best to keep our community fed during these unprecedented times and been terrified in the process.

“We took additional abuse as a result of customer fear and panic buying.

“I personally feel I did my absolute best to help this store and our community at a time that I was genuinely frightened.”

A spokesperson from Asda said, “Although there are circa 5,000 colleagues we are speaking to about the proposed changes this would not be the number of colleagues who would leave the business if the proposals are implemented.

“In fact we expect a large number of colleagues will remain with us in either their current role or one of the newly-created roles.”

Asda also clarified they were planning to create a number of jobs with the restructure.

A spokesperson for the company said, “To support the increasing number of customers who are choosing to shop online and will continue to do so, the supermarket now intends to expand its ‘in store pick’ model even further – creating 4,500 new roles in store-based online operations across the country.”

In terms of the reduced back office hours an Asda spokesperson said, “Proposals to simplify ways of working across ‘back office’ store functions with cash office, administration, people and training tasks proposed to be completed by one multi-skilled back office colleague, potentially impacting circa 3,000 colleagues.

“The proposals include training colleagues so they could complete multiple back office tasks using new technology and processes that are more relevant due to a reduction in cash handling.”

The company also specified they want to keep staff within with business.

A spokesperson for Asda said, “If the proposals are enacted, the priority will be to move as many colleagues as possible into alternative roles within Asda, with redundancy the last option.”

Asda CEO and president Roger Burnley said, “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.”

GMB Union organiser Declan MacIntyre added, “I know Asda employees will be worried about their futures after this was announced.

“We have taken calls from concerned GMB members, who we will be supporting.”