5,000 Asda staff '˜redeployed' amid talk of redundancies

Asda is talking to 5,000 store staff about potential changes to their jobs in a move that could lead to redundancies if colleagues decide not to take up their new positions.

Asda has pinpointed a number of shop floor services such as photo processing and its George clothing desks that are no longer as popular as they were.

Pharmacy opening hours will also be changed to meet customer demand and services such as make your own pizza may be removed from smaller stores where people prefer to buy pre-packed pizza. In addition Asda is consulting with staff about the closure of its store canteens.

Asda said it intends to offer the 5,000 staff new roles within the business if their position is affected.

The firm denied claims that 1,000 staff could be made redundant, insisting that it will try to redeploy as many people as possible.

A spokeswoman said: “If these proposals go ahead our aim is to redeploy colleagues rather than make them redundant.”

In a separate move 600 staff in the Leeds head office and the George head office in Leicester may be redeployed. Asda said all 600 will be offered new roles.

This follows the news earlier this week that around 200 jobs are to be cut at Asda House following what many analysts believe was a poor Christmas for the supermarket chain.