Asda staff facing relocation 'already job hunting'
GoogleAsda workers who face being outsourced and relocated across the country are already looking for new jobs, a union has said.
Staff fulfilling online orders for clothing brand George at three sites - Washington in Sunderland, Lymedale in Staffordshire and Brackmills in Northampton - would be transferred to work for DHL in Derby from January.
North East England GMB organiser Mark Wilson called the plans unrealistic and said workers from across the region were "seriously concerned" about where they may find themselves in 12 months time.
Asda said existing pay, pension, and length of service would be protected and that the move was linked to forecasts that the brand would double in size by 2032.
Asda staff were "still in a state of shock," Wilson said.
About 1,200 staff would be affected across the three sites in proposals announced last month.
Wilson said Asda was a "significant employer" in the North East and estimated about 360 Washington workers would be affected.
There are three Asda distribution centres in Washington, including for food and in-store clothing, but the proposals only relate to one site which fulfilled orders from the George.com online business.
Wilson said a "number of people are already looking for jobs" including those with less than two years service, who would not qualify for things like statutory redundancy pay.
"People will be leaving the business naturally as a consequence of the announcement."
Union negotiations
Asda said anyone who transferred to become a DHL employee would do so under "transfer of undertakings" (TUPE) regulations, which protected things like their pay and pensions.
The proposed consultations and changes would begin next January and be completed later that year, Asda said.
Chief supply chain officer David Lepley said: "This proposal supports the continued growth of our George.com business as we seek to achieve our ambition for George to become the UK's largest clothing retailer by volume."
Wilson said the GMB would use the 12 months to "look through the problem" and see if any mitigations could be made.
He said the union would be part of negotiations over the coming months.
