Asda to cease baking in stores, with 1,200 jobs at risk
In future, Asda’s baked products, such as bread and pastries, will be made in a central bakery and then warmed in stores. It said the changes would provide a broader range of products baked fresh several times a day, compared to just once a day at present.
Asda said the proposal followed “a notable shift in customer buying behaviours” in recent years, with demand for speciality breads, wraps, bagels and pancakes outstripping traditional loaves.
The latest job cuts come less than two months after Asda said 5,000 jobs were at risk from the closures of two warehouses and elimination of thousands of back-office jobs.
The Leeds-based retailer said the changes were not related to the £6.8bn sale of the company to the petrol forecourt billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity group TDR Capital. That deal is yet to be cleared by the competition watchdog.
Derek Lawlor, the chief merchandising officer at Asda, said: “The current in-store bakery model has restricted our ability to respond to changing customer demands and offer them the speciality products and freshly baked goods they want to buy throughout the day.
The changes we are proposing will deliver a much better and more consistent bakery offering for customers across all our stores. We know these proposed changes will be unsettling for colleagues and our priority is to support them during this process.”
Asda, which employs more than 140,000 people, will now enter formal consultations with those potentially affected by the changes. It said the priority would be to move as many workers as possible into alternative roles within Asda, with redundancy the last option.
Aldi trials major change in UK store which could be rolled out across the country
ALDI has launched a trial which sees the supermarket selling its first ever packaging-free products. It's a huge change that Aldi hopes will be rolled out across the whole country to help customers shop more sustainably.
However, if successful, the supermarket hopes to introduce the change to other stores across the UK in the future.
The packaging-free products available now are four household staples: Basmati rice, brown rice, penne pasta, and wholewheat fusilli pasts.
Customers can buy these foods loose in store from a refill station.
Instead of coming already packed in plastic packaging, customers will fill paper bags with the foods of their choosing.
The paper bags are offered to shoppers for free and are later weighed.
Currently, the loose brown rice costs 75p per one kilogram, while the loose basmati rice costs £1.19 per one kilogram.
This move could remove more than 130 tonnes, or more than 21 million pieces, of plastic annually from Aldi stores.
@nabob @Pinkaholic79 💖🦄🌺 @Paul - MenCanCleanToo @andym.aat @Flotson @Flossy 🧁🧁🧁 @Janet 💋🍰🍝🍹 @renatew5😺🐶 @margaret.s @roz @Tanith @harryflatters @Bill Obermeyer @homebaker and any one interested
[@Happygirl] I buy the instore baked products from lidl, you can reheat once after cooking the food has cooled down, after that you risk food poisoning depending on food. We buy microwave rice too as I like some of the flavours, but I do have a bag of rice in the cupboard. I best move house to get a free piece of technology. Oh yeah don't shop online, wonder if they would swap in store hehehe
Hubby would have LOVED this one !
'I ordered apples and got an iPhone': Tesco shopper stunned by surprise food substitute
A Tesco shopper has been left stunned after ordering a bag of apples only for the supermarket to substitute the fruit with an iPhone.
Nick James, 50, collected his shop as normal from his local Tesco Extra in Twickenham when staff told him there was a “surprise” in his bag.
Mr James was gobsmacked to receive a free iPhone SE in his click and collect order.
He told the Mirror: “I was half expecting the surprise to be an Easter egg or something - I was a little bit shocked to say the least.”
Tesco Mobile is giving away free Apple iPhones, AirPods and Samsung devices as part of a “super substitutes” promotion this week.
On Wednesday evening we went to pick up our click and collect order and had a little surprise in there - an Apple iPhone SE.
“Apparently we ordered apples and randomly got an apple iPhone! Made my son’s week!
The giveaway sees Tesco click and collect shoppers chosen at random to receive a top tech item in their basket.
For example, a bag of apples could be substituted with an Apple iPhone, or shoppers could see their Tesco laundry tablets swapped for a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.
Tesco Mobile is giving away 80 items in total until April 18 at a handful of stores.
You should also note that you will need to purchase certain items to be in with a chance of winning.
The stores taking part are: Glasgow Silverburn Extra in Glasgow, Twickenham Extra in Greater London, Stretford Extra in Manchester, Swansea Cadle Extra in Swansea, Portsmouth Extra in Portsmouth and Dudley Extra in Birmingham.
Tesco explained in a statement: "From today until 18 April, Tesco Mobile is raiding the nation’s shopping bags to make unbelievable substitutes in lucky Tesco.com Click+Collect orders.
"Tesco Mobile’s ‘Super Subs’ has been created to show how amazing things can happen when the worlds of supermarket and mobile come together - all while putting a smile on shopper’s faces."
Full terms and conditions can be found on the Tesco website .
What is Tesco giving away?
Frozen cod for Airpods
Apples for an iPhone SE
Mini Cheddars for iPhone 12 Mini
Baked bread rolls for a Motorola E7
Tesco laundry tablets for Samsung Galaxy Tab 7
Galaxy Milk Chocolate Bar for Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Galaxy chocolate drink for Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
Pampers Active Fit Nappies for Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 Black
Cotton Buds for Samsung Galaxy Buds Live
Gnocchi for Nokia 3.4
@Tanith @harryflatters @nabob @margaret.s @roz @Pinkaholic79 💖🦄🌺 @andym.aat @Paul - MenCanCleanToo @Bill Obermeyer @renatew5😺🐶 @Flossy 🧁🧁🧁 @Flotson @Janet 💋🍰🍝🍹 @homebaker and any one interested
Also, how do we know how fresh the rice etc will be ?
I mean,will they empty it fully before each re fill ?
I am unsure about this one
It is like the salted pistachio's sold loose, Hubby will not buy these due to them being stale and chewy
As for the Asda warming things up for us to buy, then I do not like that, as then what happens if WE want to re warm them up when we get back home, i do not think they would be as nice being warmed up twice some how.
As for Aldi doing this then i have to say that YES, for some of us that would be brilliant, being able to buy just the amount that we want BUT some of the younger generation, i KNOW, will not take to this.
We had an over flow of rice and we were going to give some to a family member, a younger generation and we got back from them saying, ' Oh we don't use that rice that you have to boil in a sauce pan, we buy the microwavable rice that takes two minutes '.
So i do not think that many of the younger generation would take to that.
They have been spoilt ha haaaaaaaaa