Asda, one of the UK's big four supermarket chains has announced that 1,360 jobs will be abolished from middle management. The internal restructuring will see redeployment of staff into the online shopping part of the business, which is growing at a fast rate. The restructuring will impact a total of 4,100 staff across Asda however the company also announced plans to create 5,670 new jobs. As reported, while the 1,360 job losses will be at the middle-management level the new jobs will be lower paid. 

In May 2014, Asda said that the job losses could reach as high as 2,600. Recent media coverage about retail supermarkets has highlighted at least two major forces that appear to be at play in the sector: a shift away from in-store to on-line shopping and increased competition.

The restructuring plans announced by Asda are similar in nature to internal restructuring plans that have been recently announced by one of Asda's major competitors, Morrisons. In contrast, Lidl and Aldi - both with German parent companies - have announced plans to recruit large numbers of new staff as both companies expand their UK footprints.