Asda axes store managers in turnaround push
The retail giant announced an internal shake-up on Wednesday that will make a number of in-store managers redundant to 'take out complexity' from the business.
Asda said it was combining its 'section managers' and 'trading managers' roles into a single 'manager' post, leading to the exit of some staff because of the duplication of roles.
Section managers are a layer of in-store middle management who supervise team leaders and teams of shelf stackers. Trading managers are more senior and have responsibility for 'driving sales and standards'.
The shake-up will collapse the two roles into a single job. This means around 20pc of store management will effectively be promoted to the new combined 'manager' role.
But it will also mean some managers across its 700 larger supermarkets are no longer needed. Some are being asked to move to different nearby stores.
Asda declined to comment on how many people were being made redundant.
However, workers in its larger supermarkets reported being handed brown envelopes on Wednesday, saying they had been placed on gardening leave. Some claimed the number of people in management roles was being halved in their stores.
However, the changes are understood to be different for each large supermarket, meaning some stores will have no redundancies. The shake-up does not affect Asda Express stores.
A spokesman for Asda said: 'The investment in this new structure brings decision making closer to the shop floor and our customers by clarifying roles and providing clearer accountabilities.
'We will be offering our full support to other colleagues impacted by the changes.'
It is the latest round of job cuts at Asda since Mr Leighton rejoined as its chairman in November.
In March, Asda sacked more than 200 employees who had been involved in its botched £800m IT upgrade.
That same month, it cut bonuses for thousands of managers, telling workers they would not be rewarded with payouts because of the retailer's faltering performance.
In January, it also cut 13 regional managers as part of an internal restructuring.
The latest move to sack middle managers echoes similar decisions by supermarket rivals. Earlier this year, Sainsbury's said it was planning to cut more than 3,000 posts, including a 20pc reduction of senior management roles.
At Asda, Mr Leighton has argued he wants to prioritise investment in stores and lower prices to help the supermarket win back shoppers.
Mr Leighton has said the plans will result in a 'material reduction' in profitability at Asda. It was seen as firing the starting gun on a price war among grocers, with Tesco and Sainsbury's racing to counter recent reductions.
It follows years of declines at Asda. The most recent figures from Kantar showed its market share slipped from 12.5pc to 11.9pc in the year to the middle of June.
Over the weekend, The Telegraph revealed the supermarket chain was piling pressure on suppliers including Heinz, Nestle and General Mills to help it cut prices within its stores.
At the time, an Asda spokesman said: 'The material investment we are making this year to lower prices has already made a difference by opening up a 3pc-6pc price gap over other traditional full-service supermarkets.'
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