Asda has unveiled plans to outsource more than 100 roles to an Indian supplier, prompting fears of job cuts.
According to a report in the Telegraph, IT staff in its Leeds headquarters received an email last week about the plans.
The proposal to move a number of roles to Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services was announced just 24 hours before private equity company TDR Capital took majority control of the supermarket chain.
The newspaper has reported that more than 130 employees have entered a consultation process. Asda has not confirmed either way whether job losses are in the pipeline.
Nadine Houghton, national officer for the GMB trade union, said: “The outsourcing and offshoring of jobs from Asda’s head office is yet more asset stripping by TDR Capital.
“The GMB believes this first round of job cuts is only the tip of the iceberg, with over 5,000 Asda colleagues employed in Asda House – we expect more announcements like this in the months ahead.
“TDR Capital have cut millions of hours from the shop floor and now they are cutting the head office functions that support the stores. Asda workers are asking what will be left?”
Last week, the union led a 500-strong demonstration outside Asda’s Bournemouth store in protest against TDR Capital “slashing” millions of hours from shop workers. It claims that staff in the Bournemouth store alone have seen their hours cut by 16,500 in the past two years.
Asda told the Telegraph that the changes were part of a broader IT transformation called Project Future.
“Project Future will deliver a step-change in our data capabilities, our customer experience, and competitive edge. Put simply, it is a key building block of our strategy that will set Asda up for long-term success,” the company said.
“As part of this process, we have taken the difficult decision to propose some changes to our technology function to ensure we have the necessary skills and capabilities in place to support these new systems.
“We have opened a collective consultation with colleagues impacted by this proposed change and will do all we can to support them during this process that they may find unsettling. We are fully on track to complete the three-year Project Future programme by the end of this year.”
In March this year, Asda’s computer systems were again in the spotlight when thousands of staff were hit by a payroll error, and some missing up to two weeks’ wages.
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