Asda plunges 261 Enfield warehouse jobs into uncertainty

Asda has announced it has proposed to shutter its Enfield warehouse which would result in cutting 261 roles.

The supermarket chain said that the proposal to close the warehouse came following the opening of two new automated warehouses in Dartford and Heston.

Asda said the Enfield site, built only eight years ago, was “not able to make the necessary further improvements to meet the speed of fulfilment and product ranges that our customers now expect”.

In the event of closure the retailer is hoping to redeploy the workers to the nearby Heston fulfilment centre or in local stores. Asda said that redundancies would be considered a “last resort”.

Asda previously said that the new warehouses had created 700 new jobs along with improving order accuracy and processing speed.

Asda vice-president of grocery home shopping, Simon Gregg, said: “In a competitive retail market, where customers rightly expect great value and ease of service, we are always looking at how we can improve our operations to meet their expectations.

“Despite great efforts by our colleagues at Enfield, restrictions on the site mean we are not able to make the necessary further improvements to meet the speed of fulfilment and product ranges that our customers now expect.

“Therefore, we’ve entered a consultation process with colleagues on proposals to close the facility.”

Trade union GMB London said it was disappointed that Asda “felt the need to start this proposal despite reassurances that there would be no depot or store closures”.