Asda has today announced a programme of change proposals to transform parts of its business in a move that could put 3,000 jobs at risk. 

Asda stores in Ayrshire include Ardrossan, Irvine, Ayr and Cumnock. 

The transformation proposals come in response to changing shopping habits, with the supermarket citing a structural shift in customer behaviour towards online grocery during the pandemic.

The most significant of these proposals are plans to restructure the role of 'back office' store workers, with cash office, administration, people and training tasks proposed to be completed by one multi-skilled back office colleague only.

This could put around 3,000 back office store workers at risk. It is estimated there around three or four back office roles per each store.

Since March last year, Asda has increased its online capacity by 90 per cent and remains on course to fulfil one million orders per week by the end of the year.

To support the increasing number of customers who are choosing to shop online and will continue to do so, Asda now intends to expand its ‘in store pick’ model even further – creating 4,500 new roles in store-based online operations across the country.

Asda has also opened a collective consultation on proposals to transform operations in three different parts of its business, in-line with wider changes across the grocery industry.

Irvine Times: Asda, Ardrossan.Asda, Ardrossan.

There is also the proposed realignment of some store-level management roles, with deputy store manager and section leader roles replaced by two new roles – Operations Manager and Online Trading Manager.

These proposals affect around 1,100 colleagues and if enacted would see an overall increase in headcount in store-level management roles across the business.

The business will now enter formal consultations with around 5,000 colleagues potentially impacted by the proposals out of a total workforce of 145,000.

If the proposals are enacted, Asda say the priority will be to move as many colleagues as possible into alternative roles within stores, with redundancy the last option.

Roger Burnley, Asda CEO and President, said: “We know that these proposed changes will be unsettling for colleagues and our priority is to support them during this consultation process.

"Our plans to transform the business will result in more roles being created than those we propose to remove and our absolute aim is to ensure as many colleagues as possible stay with us, as well as creating the opportunity to welcome new people to our business.”