Following a poor Christmas, Asda is set to axe hundreds of head office jobs in Leeds as the supermarket group faces “permanent structural change”.
A spokesperson for the firm said, “It’s well documented that in recent years, customers have radically changed the way they shop. We were the first of the big four to recognise this and launch a new strategy in 2013 yet the external pressures have accelerated at an increasingly rapid rate over the last 18 months.
“As a result, the industry faces major challenges and the certainty of permanent structural change. In the context of this, we also have to further change the way we do business.
“Today, we have started to talk to our colleagues in head office functions about what this means for them. We have made some difficult but necessary decisions but we must discuss these with our colleagues before we talk publicly.”