Aldi's UK business is cutting hundreds of head office and logistics roles as part of a global effort to trim costs at the German-owned budget grocer. The redundancies include consultations on up to 150 technology jobs and a move to outsource finance, procurement and administration work under a deal with Genpact.

Where the redundancies fall

The reductions reach across several parts of the business:

• •Up to 150 roles are at stake in consultations with Aldi's technology team.
• •Earlier this year, 103 redundancies were made in the finance and administration team.
• •Almost 20 further redundancies were made among buying directors.
• •Store jobs have not been affected, though Aldi slightly reduced the number of regional managers, hitting a handful of high-paying roles.

Aldi has also reduced the number of cleaning hours for agency workers at its head office in Atherstone, Warwickshire, and sources said consultation on payroll redundancies is set to begin in the coming months.

Centralising work and the Genpact deal

The group is reducing the number of people in local country operations as it centralises more work. Under the agreement with Genpact, a company that helps businesses develop the use of AI technology, Aldi is outsourcing finance, procurement and administration roles to India, among other countries.

What Aldi says

An Aldi spokesperson said: "Across our international business, we continuously review all aspects of our operations to ensure we operate simply, efficiently." The spokesperson added that any changes are being introduced gradually and following a consultation period, with as much notice and full support for affected colleagues.

One affected worker called the cuts shortsighted and said they showed that upper management are woefully out of touch with the reality.

Sales pressure and the wider supermarket picture

Aldi struggles to keep up the pace of growth, according to the report. UK sales at the chain rose only 0.4% in the 12 weeks to 1 November, according to Worldpanel by Numerator data, and its market share fell back by 0.1 percentage point year on year. The average unit price at Aldi fell by 0.1%, making it the only retailer reducing overall prices during the period.

Aldi said it invested £300m in lowering prices on 900 products in the UK this year. It faces tougher competition from traditional supermarkets, several of which now match it on price on key items alongside their much wider range of other products.

The job losses are not unique to Aldi among UK supermarkets:

• •Morrisons cut hundreds of head office roles this spring.
• •Sainsbury's eliminated 300 head office jobs as it restructured its technology team and Argos delivery network.
• •Tesco laid off a similar number of people as it changed the way it operated bakeries.
• •Asda said up to 1,000 jobs were at risk this summer as it introduced more automation into its logistics operation.

Consultation on payroll redundancies is set to begin in the coming months, according to sources.