Wal-Mart’s UK supermarket chain Asda has announced a series of management changes and the loss of 1,000 jobs.
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The changes, which Asda said were “designed to simplify, re-focus and re-energise the business for future success,” were announced by Asda president and CEO Andy Bond, three months after his appointment.
Store management teams are to be re-focused on customers, and a new board role of ‘customer director,” is to be created.
Yesterday Andy Bond briefed colleagues about plans to restructure its home office to simplify the business and re-invest to make it fit for the future, Asda said. In the coming days, around 200 management jobs will be phased out at its Leeds and Lutterworth centres as roles are merged and re-focused.
In stores, the management structure will also be simplified, affecting an average of around five roles per store, 1,200 colleagues, enabling ASDA to invest in frontline customer service. Individual colleagues affected in stores and at the main Leeds centre will be personally briefed this week, the company said.
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By GlobalDataOf the 1,400 people whose jobs are being cut, 400 will be redeployed, an Asda spokeswoman told just-food.
Bond also announced changes to the senior executive team:
David Cheesewright will return from his 12 month attachment as chief operating officer for Wal-Mart in Canada, to be chief operating officer and trading director for Asda, with overall responsibility for both trading and logistics. Dave will take up his appointment on 1 October.
Andy Clarke will also return to ASDA after a three year gap to be retail director, a position he left in 2002 to work at Matalan and Iceland. Andy will also be responsible for ASDA’s growing financial services business. Andy will begin work on 5 September.
“And demonstrating Andy’s resolve that ASDA re-focuses single-mindedly on its customers, he has created a brand new role,” the company said. “Angela Spindler, becomes customer and strategy director from October 1. Angela will be responsible for marketing, ASDA Brand, customer service, format development and business strategy.”
There are no changes to the responsibilities of general merchandise director Tony Page, John Longworth ASDA’s legal & external affairs director and company secretary, David Smith its people director and Judith McKenna, ASDA’s finance director.
“Whilst it’s the right thing to do for our business, we say goodbye to some great colleagues this week and I thank them for all they have done for ASDA,” Bond said. “While our sales have slowed in recent months as the economy’s tightened, ASDA is no retail straggler,”said Andy Bond. “Over the past six years we’ve created an additional 40,000 jobs across Britain and experienced rapid growth.
“But I’m simply not satisfied with this year’s average performance, our natural home is outperformance and today’s changes put in place the teams; at board level, ASDA House and in the stores – that will re-ignite our business over the next 12-18 months,” he said.
