13/05/2003

ASDA announces 1,200 job boost in UK

ASDA has unveiled plans for a £200 million investment in its UK distribution network that will lead to 1,200 new jobs.

The supermarket retail giant has announced plans to refurbish existing depots and create new facilities in several areas in Scotland and England.

As part of the Wal-Mart group of companies ASDA is to benefit from leading edge technology to help ensure a revolution in the company’s distribution network.

A new centre to be built in Lutterworth in Leicestershire will become the national distribution centre for ASDA operations. The centre will employ around 500 people. The company also announced that 400 new jobs are to be created in its Grangemouth depot, 200 more in a proposed new depot in Falkirk, and 100 at new recycling sites in Wakefield and Wigan. And 500 workers will transfer from Wigan to a new depot to be built in Skelmersdale later this year.

ASDA currently employs around 120,000 people in the UK at its 260 retail stores, depots and service centres.

The company, with backing from US giant Wal-Mart, is viewed as one of the top bidders for supermarket chain Safeway.

In 1999 Wal-Mart took over ASDA’s UK stores in an agreed offer of £6.7 billion squeezing out a rival bid from the then lead bidder the Kingfisher.

(SP)

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