Highlights
- Asda launching two separate consultations with job cuts likely across management and warehouse roles
- 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 launched two consultations that may lead to job cuts across parts of its distribution network.
The Telegraph reported that the retail giant is consulting on changes that could affect management and warehouse staff following a sales collapse over Christmas. The cuts would affect over 80 managers and dozens of warehouse workers.
According to The Telegraph, the announcements follow a difficult Christmas period for Asda, with sales dropping 4.2 per cent over the festive season, making it the only major supermarket to suffer declining sales.
Asda's market share fell to 11.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 28 December, continuing its ongoing struggle against rivals including Tesco and Sainsbury's.
This marks the latest in a series of job cuts over 18 months, spearheaded by chairman Allan Leighton, with in-store managers made redundant in July and hundreds of IT workers axed last year.
However, Asda said the consultations are designed to improve operational efficiency and are unrelated to recent trading performance.
The company confirmed it cannot yet confirm how many colleagues will be affected as both consultations opened only this week.
Transport and parcels
The first consultation proposes creating eight regional control hubs to manage transport operations across Asda's 21 depots.
An Asda spokesman said "We are proposing to introduce a new regional structure for our transport teams to simplify our distribution network and our deliveries to stores.
This approach would deliver several practical benefits, including reducing duplicated tasks, improving regional flexibility, creating more consistent ways of working, and lowering our reliance on agency and haulier support."
The current depot-by-depot model has been in place for many years, and Asda said a regional model would improve coordination, consistency and efficiency across the network.
The second consultation involves outsourcing parcel operations to delivery company Evri. Asda confirmed this would affect logistics workers in Yorkshire under plans to improve its parcel delivery service.
The spokesman added Asda currently processes over 28 m parcels annually through a network "that was never designed for this level of demand."
"As a result, fewer than half of our stores can offer next-day parcel collection, a service that customers now expect as standard from all major retailers.
By partnering with Evri, all 1,200 Asda locations will be able to offer next-day collection and returns, providing customers with a quicker and more convenient service," he added.
Neither consultation is expected to result in depot closures.
