Over 50 redundancies made at Asda's George headquarters

UK retailer Asda has had cut over 50 jobs in Lutterwoth,

Leicestershire, where the headquarters for its clothing line George are based, in addition to the 150 plus jobs axed at its head office in Leeds. The job cuts, which have taken place across a variety of managerial levels, are said to be part of Asda's five year strategy scheme to compete against rival discounters and supermarkets.

Andy Clarke, Asda's Chief Executive Officer said that the cuts would help prepare the company for the structural changes taking place. "The customer has changed the way they shop. They're shopping online, home delivery, click and collect and in smaller stores. The shape of the business is changing," commented Clarke to the Yorkshire Post.

He noted that there are currently no additional plans for other job cuts at the moment. "The job losses go from the top, all the way through both buildings [Asda House in Leeds and George House in Lutterworth]. Organizational change isn't fixed and you can't say it will never change again," he added.

The redundancies are said to affect roughly five percent of the employee number at both site, which together have 4,000 staff. Asda had declined to comment which roles have been cut. Asda's clothing line George, which is sold in stores and online is the third biggest clothing business in the UK, with global annual sales reaching 2 billion pounds.