Asda chairman cuts jobs following Christmas sales slump
Asda chairman Allan Leighton has introduced a series of cost-cutting measures, including redundancies, as he warned of a long road ahead for the struggling supermarket.
The grocery giant revealed the axing of 13 regional managers as part of a senior shake-up, designed to increase performance and cut costs.
In an internal memo released to staff on 7 January, seen by The Telegraph, Asda bosses confirmed the supermarket’s branches will be managed across 22 “sub-regions”, a drop from 30.
The memo added: “Change is never easy and unfortunately we have had to say goodbye to a number of colleagues”.
An Asda spokesman said: “We made changes to our field-based retail team regions to reflect the scale of our business across large stores and convenience. These changes set us up to serve our customers in the best way for 2025 as we deliver Asda Price and other exciting propositions.”
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However, the headcount overhaul is thought to be just the beginning of job cuts this year, with reports last November of further redundancies to be made in 2025.
The cost-cutting measures also follow post-Christmas woes for the retailer, which this year suffered its worst Christmas since 2015 as sales slumped by 5.8% in the 12 weeks to 29 December.
In November, Asda named former CEO Allan Leighton as its executive chairman, succeeding Lord Stuart Rose, as the supermarket giant attempted to arrest its decline in sales. The appointment came as Asda continues it’s long-running search for a new CEO after Mohsin Issa officially stepped back from his executive leadership role earlier this year, to focus on his previously announced position as sole CEO of EG Group.
3 Comments. Leave new
Asda stores are very poor for customer services the check out staff are replaced with self service . It doesn’t work and is often longer that get served by a human. I have stopped shopping there if possible as I find human touch is the best
I agree. Not only poor customer service but I sometimes find the shelves needing stocked and are almost empty. I also have stopped shopping there.
I like Asda I prefer it to the other supermarkets the staff are friendly I have no problem with customer service yes some of the selves are empty but that is down to the supplier not the store, I wouldn’t shop anywhere else