Asda to axe 475 jobs and forces staff back to the office three days a week

Asda is set to axe 475 roles from its head offices in two UK locations. The supermarket has said that hundreds of jobs will go at its bases in Leeds and Leicester.

Other staff have been told they must come in at least three days a week from January. The change is said to apply to about 5,000 workers based at its Asda House and Britannia House sites in Leeds, as well as the George House site in Leicester.

The move was reportedly announced in an internal email to staff. A spokesperson told The Telegraph that the approach will bring the supermarket chain 'in line with our competitors' to 'build high-performing teams with a collaborative culture'.

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The update does not impact its retail workers, Mirror reports. It comes just weeks after Mohsin Issa stepped down from his executive leadership role, with former M&S chief executive Lord Stuart Rose taking over the running of Asda on an interim basis.

He remains co-owner of the chain, alongside private equity backer TDR Capital, and a non-executive on the board. Asda reported a 2.2 per cent decline in total revenues, excluding fuel, to £5.3billion from April to June 2024.

Its like-for-like sales were 5.3 per cent lower. A spokesperson from Asda said: "The changes which are being communicated today will result in 475 colleagues being made redundant at our head offices in Leeds and Leicester.

"In addition, fixed-term contractors who are working on our IT transformation project will also leave over the course of the next few months as this project finishes." Brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa bought Asda from Walmart in 2020, in a £6.8billion deal with the backing of TDR Capital.

Zuber completed a sale of his 22.5 per cent stake in Asda to TDR Capital last week for an undisclosed fee. TDR is now the majority shareholder with a 67.5 per cent stake in the retailer, while Mohsin retains 22.5 per cent stake and Walmart owns the remaining 10 per cent.

Mohsin confirmed he will step back from his role. In September, he sad: "I have decided now is the right time for me to step back from my oversight role at Asda to focus on EG Group as sole chief executive.

"It is a very exciting time for EG Group, and I am looking forward to focusing on the business while supporting Stuart, Rob and the leadership team in my capacity as a shareholder of Asda."