UK supermarket chain Asda is considering cutting the pay of 7,000 staff in the southeast of England to bring salaries in line with the company’s other stores.
(Bloomberg) — UK supermarket chain Asda is considering cutting the pay of 7,000 staff in the southeast of England to bring salaries in line with the company’s other stores.
The British grocer pays an hourly rate of £11 ($13.60) with a premium of 60 pence more in some stores outside Greater London. That’s “out of line with the wider retail market and has created an anomaly where some Asda colleagues in stores that are close together are paid different rates,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Asda is discussing giving workers a different payment if the cut goes ahead, and no final decision has been made.
GMB, the union representing Asda, said workers’ “current compensation offer is currently nowhere near enough,” according to organizer Nadine Houghton.
“It’s absolutely outrageous that Asda is choosing to cut their pay in a cost-of-living crisis,” she said.
The discussions were initially reported by the BBC. Large British supermarkets have been raising pay to remain competitive amid a cost-of-living crisis. Asda said in February it would increase salaries by 10% across two stages, with one raise in April and another in July.
Asda Raises Pay for Store Workers Battling Higher Living Costs
Britain’s third biggest grocer reported a steep decline in full-year earnings in March as rising consumer prices weigh on supermarket margins.
Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa acquired a majority stake in Asda with buyout firm TDR Capital in 2021.
–With assistance from Ilya Banares.
(Adds details, quote from union representative.)
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