Asda axes hundreds of Leeds head office staff

Asda is to axe hundreds of staff from its head office in Leeds as it cuts costs amid fierce competition in the supermarket sector.

Asda said the job losses would be in the "low hundreds" out of a total of 2,500 staff at its Leeds head office.

The firm is battling against stiff competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl, which are around 15 per cent cheaper than Asda, which is the cheapest of the big four grocers.

Asda colleagues are being informed of the changes this afternoon and a statement is due out in around an hour.

Asda reported its first positive sales growth in three years last month, driven by food price inflation and lower prices.

It said like-for-like sales rose 1.8 per cent in the three months to June 30

This was the first positive quarter after 11 consecutive quarters of diminishing sales as shoppers have fled to discounters Aldi and Lidl. It was also a vast improvement on the 7.5 per cent fall that Asda reported this time last year.

Asda has been the worst performer of the big four for some time although there have been signs of improvement recently.

Its new CEO Sean Clarke is credited with reducing prices, getting rid of superfluous stock and introducing discount level brands such as Farm Stores.