Issa brothers face Asda strike threats over cost-cutting

Asda’s billionaire owners are threatened with a wave of strike action after slashing millions of hours in a bid to cut costs.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, alongside their private equity partner TDR Capital, are risking open revolt at the supermarket, which employs 140,000, as they face the warnings of unprecedented walkouts.

Estimates being shared among staff revealed that eight million hours have been lost across Asda’s workforce in the last two years alone, with further reductions expected this year. 

The cuts have stoked trade union concerns over health and safety. The GMB, one of the UK’s biggest unions, staged a small walkout at one store in Hampshire on Friday.

Attempts to reduce Asda’s wage bill come as the business battles hundreds of millions of pounds in interest payments, caused a debt pile worth £4.2bn.

Financial constraints have coincided with upheaval in the Issa brothers’ empire, including the prospect of Zuber Issa selling his 22.5pc stake in the business just three years after he and his brother acquired Asda for £6.8bn. 

Mohsin’s personal life has also fuelled scrutiny, as he recently confirmed a report in The Telegraph that he is in a relationship with Victoria Price, a former tax partner at EY, which was Asda’s auditor until it quit last year. She has said she did no work on the account.

It is understood that Zuber has said in meetings that he has enlisted former Conservative chairman Sir Jake Berry MP to help navigate the turmoil. 

However, Sir Jake said he only speaks to the Issas in his capacity as their constituency MP in Lancashire, stressing that he is not helping them in any formal or paid capacity. The Issa brothers declined to comment on their relationship with Sir Jake.

Allies of the brothers, whose fortune was founded on the EG Group petrol station chain, have dismissed claims of a rift. Zuber attended an Asda board meeting on Monday alongside Mohsin, they said.

Concern around Asda’s reduction in hours was highlighted by an Asda worker, who told The Telegraph it was causing “huge health and safety concerns” across stores.

The staff member said: “The reduction in hours has been massive. The Issas have done this to make Asda more profitable. Not only is it the colleagues who are suffering, it’s the customers as well.”

Question marks over the company’s ownership have also sparked uncertainty across the workforce. 

A group of Asda workers took part in strike action at an Asda supermarket in Hampshire on Friday, although further ballots are expected to take place across at least three more stores.

A spokesman for the GMB union confirmed that it is in dispute with Asda across several stores, “with a reduction in hours being one of the key issues”. 

However, union chiefs said “positive discussions” have started “in an attempt to resolve some of the issues our members are experiencing”. 

An Asda spokesman said: “As with all large UK supermarkets, Asda has responded to changing customer shopping behaviour by investing in technology and modernising its working practices. We continue to explore how colleagues can be deployed more effectively to serve customers.

“We have held positive talks with the GMB as recently as Friday in an effort to resolve some of the issues they have raised.”