Asda is expected to make more job cuts following fresh round of redundancies

The new round of job losses is reported to affect those working on the supermarket’s IT overhaul, according to The Telegraph.

Bosses have not said how many workers could be made redundant but the number would be “meaningful”. New cuts are expected to be completed early next year.

Last week, the supermarket made hundreds of head office staff redundant while also ordering remaining staff back to the office at least three days a week from January.

It was reported that the redundancies were made with little warning but Asda chair Lord Rose said no employment rules had been breached.

“It is categorically not against the law. Why would I do something that was against the law?” he said last week.

“We said to [staff]: ‘Right, we are going to offer you a package that is greater than what you would have got through consultation.’

“People understand that and they respect that. It’s a painful process but it has been done in a humane way.”

The GMB union is considering discrimination claims against Asda, mainly on behalf of women let go while on maternity leave.

A GMB spokesperson said: “GMB is concerned that Asada has circumvented the established legal process for ensuring mass redundancies are handled fairly.

“This calls into question how they have ensured the process has been equality-proofed to protect, for example, women, those with disabilities, and those with caring responsibilities.

“Head office colleagues have been asking how and why they have been selected for redundancy with some feeling they have been targeted for having had periods of sickness or a disability.

“This is not the right way for one of the UK’s largest private sector employers to handle job cuts of this scale.”