Aldi is cutting hundreds of head office positions in the UK as part of a global cost reduction programme at the German-owned retailer. The supermarket is consulting with its technology team about the loss of up to 150 roles, following 103 redundancies in its finance and administration team earlier this year and almost 20 more among buying directors. The company is also reducing the number of regional managers slightly, affecting a handful of senior positions, although jobs in Aldi stores themselves remain unaffected.
The retailer is centralising operations and outsourcing finance, procurement and administration roles to India and other countries through a deal with Genpact, a company that helps businesses develop the use of technology. Consultation is set to begin on redundancies in payroll in the coming months. The company has also recently reduced cleaning hours for agency workers at its head office in Atherstone, Warwickshire. One affected worker described the cuts as "shortsighted" and said they showed that "upper management [are] woefully out of touch with the reality".
Aldi said the changes form part of ensuring it "operates simply, efficiently and use our global scale" to maintain its promise of low prices to customers. A spokesperson stated: "Any changes are being introduced gradually and following a consultation period. We recognise that this is difficult for those involved, so we are giving colleagues as much notice as possible, with full support available to everyone affected." The company said it had invested £300m in lowering prices on 900 products in the UK this year.
The cost-cutting measures come as Aldi's growth momentum slows. UK sales rose only 0.4% in the 12 weeks to 1 November, according to industry data from Worldpanel by Numerator, with Aldi's market share falling back by 0.1 percentage point year on year. The average unit price at Aldi fell by 0.1% during the period, making it the only retailer reducing overall prices. The supermarket has faced tougher competition from traditional rivals, several of which now match it on price on key items while offering a much wider product range.
Aldi's move reflects a wider trend in UK supermarket restructuring. Morrisons cut hundreds of head office roles in spring, while Sainsbury's eliminated 300 head office jobs as it restructured its technology team and Argos delivery network. Tesco laid off a similar number as it changed bakery operations, and Asda said up to 1,000 jobs were at risk this summer as it introduced more automation into logistics.