Dozens of Asda Bexleyheath staff members protested last week after they claim “asset stripping” has led to hours being cut and millions owed in equal pay claims.

Asda staff from the GMB Union staged a protest on Thursday (August 8), with staff workers joined by a life-size cutout of Asda boss Manjit Dale, following outrage over what has been described as “asset stripping” of the supermarket.

Under TDR Capital, Asda's private equity owners, millions of hours claim to have been cut from the shop floor in a bid to mitigate company debts. 

However, GMB claim that this has led to health and safety concerns, with “dirty stores and declining standards”.

According to estimates by GMB, 14 percent of hours at Asda Bexleyheath have been cut over the last two years, with staff “forced to do more work for less hours.”

According to GMB, Asda shop floor workers, which are predominantly women, are also owed billions back in equal pay claims, with £3.5 million owed to current and former ASDA workers at the Bexleyheath branch.

Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer said: “This is daylight robbery of a much-loved British institution with Asda workers and customers paying the price for TDR Capital’s financial engineering.

“TDR Capital are behaving like robber barons and fast becoming the unacceptable face of UK capitalism.

“GMB will not stand by while Asda workers are forced to do more work with less hours and declining health and safety standards.

“The billions of pounds owed to these workers through their equal pay claim grows by the second too.

“Figures released by GMB today show the impact that cutting hours is having to your local Asda and how much the workers in your store are owed through their equal pay claim.”

An Asda spokesperson said: “We are investing an additional £30m during the remainer of the year to improve the in-store experience. This includes putting extra hours into store to help colleagues provide an even better service to customers.”

On the asset stripping claim, they added: “Since acquiring Asda in 2021, the shareholders have invested £3.8bn to grow the business organically and via strategic acquisitions. This includes launching Asda Express, a nationwide chain of convenience stores, Asda Rewards, a successful loyalty programme now used by six million customers, and a £415m investment in retail pay to make Asda the highest-paying traditional supermarket.”

On the equal value claim, they added: “At Asda, male and female colleagues doing the same jobs in stores are paid the same and this is equally true in our distribution centres. We continue to defend these claims because retail and distribution are very different sectors, with their own distinct skill sets and rates of pay."