Highlights
- Asda preparing to cut over 80 managers and dozens of warehouse staff following worst Christmas trading performance.
- Supermarket's market share dropped to 11.4 per cent while sales fell 4.2 per cent over festive period.
- Plans include outsourcing parcel operations to Evri and restructuring transport teams into eight regional hubs.
Asda has placed more than 150 jobs at risk after suffering a sales collapse over Christmas that pushed its share of Britain's grocery market to a record low.
The troubled supermarket is preparing to axe over 80 managers and dozens of warehouse staff in its latest cost-cutting measure, signalling mounting pressure on the retail giant which continues losing ground to rivals including Tesco and Sainsbury's.
Redundancy negotiations will now determine how many employees will leave the business, a move likely to further dampen morale across the company.
The cuts are expected across several major distribution centres, with plans to reduce delivery staff at larger warehouses.
Asda confirmed logistics workers in Yorkshire had been placed at risk under proposals to outsource some parcel operations to delivery company Evri.
This marks the latest in a series of job cuts over 18 months, spearheaded by chairman Allan Leighton.
A large group of in-store managers were made redundant in July, while hundreds of IT workers were also axed last year following a failed IT upgrade.
Sales and debt
The redundancies follow Asda's dismal Christmas performance, with market share falling to 11.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 28 December.
Sales dropped 4.2 per cent during the period, making Asda the only major supermarket to suffer declining sales over Christmas. By contrast, rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's attracted more customers during the festive season.
Despite overseeing Asda's revival during the 1990s, Mr Leighton has yet to improve performance during his second stint.
The supermarket's decline has continued since private equity giant TDR Capital partnered with Mohsin and Zuber Issa to purchase the business in 2021, when market share stood at 14.8 per cent.
Asda's troubles are reflected in its debt, with a €1.3 bn term loan falling to an all-time low of 88 cents. Fitch downgraded the business deeper into junk status last year, threatening higher borrowing costs.
An Asda spokesman told The Telegraph that the company was proposing "a new regional structure for our transport teams" with eight regional hubs to improve efficiency. Neither consultation is expected to result in depot closures.
