Asda will pay £10 million for a CEO but can’t pay staff

Supermarket giant Asda has been under fire recently. 

From delays in staff payments and employee protests around its UK stores to little confidence in its long-term strategy, the supermarket’s reputation has been tanking of late. 

Asda boss Mohsin Issa announcing a hefty salary for the company’s new CEO comes as a further blow to its workers who have been protesting over poor working conditions and lack of equal pay.

Staff confidence is declining

Asda has big plans for this year, but its organisational culture is struggling.

The supermarket’s £50 million investment programme will include upgrades of 170 stores by the end of November, enabling improvements of current services as well as offering new ones.  Plans also include a £30 million investment to boost staff presence in aisles and restock shelves. 

But despite this news, many Asda staff don’t feel confident in the company’s recently divulged strategy. According to the supermarket’s latest annual survey, just 47% of respondents expressed confidence in its longterm plan. 

This comes as a further blow to senior leadership following the payslip dilemma in March, in which an IT glitch resulted in nearly 10,000 workers receiving incorrect pay, leaving thousands either missing two weeks’ wages or reimbursing the company.

Asda employees also participated in a 48-hour strike in May due to a “litany of workplace issues”, including cuts to hours, “bullying management” and poor quality training. They also claimed that health and safety issues were not addressed and that equal pay isn’t being resolved fast enough.

Asda offers its CEO £10 million

Issa announced in June that Asda’s next CEO could receive a pay package of up to £10 million, in its efforts to find someone to lead the business.

The average annual CEO salary is £97,083 per year, Meanwhile, the average salary for an Asda worker in the UK is £26,509 per year (£13.59). 

While Asda is far from the only supermarket to offer a generous CEO salary – with Tesco boss Ken Murphy reported as the highest-paid supermarket boss – it leaves people questioning whether bosses are out of touch with workers.

Is Asda lacking in culture?

Asda’s sales figures declined by 5.9% within 12 weeks compared to the previous year, according to data company NIQ. It was also reported to be the only major supermarket with decreasing sales, while major competitor Lidl hit a new record in market shares at 8.1%. Aldi’s figures also revealed a favourable 10.0% in comparison.

While the company has ambitious plans to improve and upgrade its supermarkets, the sliding figures could be pointed towards its focus on strategy over culture.

The supermarket’s core values include “putting customers at the heart of everything”, “daring to try” and “all being colleagues, together one team”.

But despite the latter, Asda only holds a 3.4 out of 5-star rating on Glassdoor, with just 52% of employees recommending the company to a friend. Poor management, insufficient training and lack of trust in employees were listed as the main cons of working at the company.