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Asda’s new chairman, Allan Leighton, has reportedly told staff that multiple regional manager roles will be axed in a bid to overhaul the business, after the group suffered poor sales over the Christmas period.
According to The Telegraph, 13 regional manager roles will be cut as part of the restructuring in a bid to shore up costs.
In a memo released to staff on 7 January, Asda reportedly said the restructuring will mean that all supermarkets and express stores will now be managed across 22 sub-regions, down from 30.
This will lead to fewer regional managers across the business, with control over more stores.
According to The Telegraph, the memo said: “Change is never easy and unfortunately we have had to say goodbye to a number of colleagues.”
The restructuring comes as Asda witnessed its worst Christmas since 2015. In the 12 weeks to 29 December, sales fell by 5.8%, while Asda’s market share fell to 12.5% in December, down from 13.5% last year.
Leighton, who ran the business between 1996 and 2001, replaced previous chair Lord Rose in November.
Following his appointment, Leighton warned that a turnaround of the business could be a three to five year process.
Speaking to The Guardian shortly following his appointment, Leighton said that his priority was now to “restore Asda’s DNA” through finding a new CEO, as well as improving pricing and availability. He claimed three to five years will “take us that long to get it right”.
An Asda spokesman told The Telegraph: “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.”
Asda has been approached for further comment.
