Asda bonus axe ‘kick in the teeth’ as managers learn from the media
Asda managers were only made aware of the grocer’s decision to scrap their annual bonuses when the news broke in the media, sources have told Grocery Gazette’s sister publication Retail Gazette.
Asda has reportedly axed its bonus scheme for more than 10,000 managers following the supermarket chain’s declining performance, with the news first emerging in The Telegraph on 1 March.
However, numerous store managers have claimed that they were not told about the decision before the public announcement, with one manager describing the move as “a kick in the teeth.”
A South Wales-based Asda manager told Retail Gazette: “We knew deep down we probably weren’t getting a bonus this year, but it was used as a stick to beat us with during appraisals—hitting targets, being told we needed to perform to earn it. Then to find out through the media, without anything being said in-store, is an absolute joke.”
Another manager said that as bonuses are included in their overall wage package, and as they often account for thousands of pounds, axing them effectively signifies a pay cut.
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The news follows a tough year for the grocer. In 2024, it attempted to arrest its steady slump in sales, but still delivered a damp performance over the festive period leading to its worst Christmas in a decade.
The cancelling of the bonuses also comes just months after new chairman Allan Leighton returned to lead the supermarket in November. He has since pledged to turn around the struggling supermarket and has made strategic decisions such as the return of its Rollback initiative, the axing of its Aldi and Lidl price match and a series of redundancies.
The changes include a senior management restructuring, which has already led to the departure of 13 regional managers, which the grocer confirmed would be followed by further cost-cutting measures.
For store-level management, the recent decision to scrap bonuses has only deepened frustration.
One Asda manager said: “The timing makes it worse. The bonus was due in two weeks, so to be kept in the dark until now feels like a huge lack of respect.”
The decision has also raised concerns about staff retention. One former Asda employee told The Telegraph: “Morale will be rock bottom. Even Allan [Leighton] won’t be able to pick them up from this. This will mean some of the top talent looking elsewhere.” Another cautioned it could cause “anarchy” in the business.
A spokesperson for Asda declined to comment.
4 Comments. Leave new
They took away staff bonuses a couple of years ago but only managers were still getting it.not fair so I’m glad there not getting bonuses.
Hopefully they will have their bank holiday benefits taken off them aswell like have
Yeah, like another person said above we lost our bonus years ago towards the end of covid. Apparently we’re all colleages, one Asda but the managers continued to get bonuses until now.
They aren’t paid as well as a manager should be to be honest. Van drivers with added responsibility, added risk and working late shifts get paid the same as someone fresh out of education pushing trollies. Good for a 17 year old, not good for a 40 year old.
Colleagues get three pay rises a year and also we only got one per cent pay rise ahd half our hours are not paid for