Asda has insisted its stores will remain properly protected after more than 300 security officers working for outsourcing giant Mitie were placed at risk of redundancy.
Mitie has launched a consultation over plans to reduce guard hours across around 100 Asda stores, which could leave some officers facing reduced shifts, relocation or redundancy.
The GMB union has branded the process “shambolic” and called for it to be suspended, warning that cutting security hours could place shoppers and store workers at greater risk as retail crime continues to rise.
However, Asda rejected suggestions that the changes would weaken security across its estate, claiming the total number of guards available would not fall as a result of the consultation.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “The statement that we have cut or reduced security roles is entirely incorrect.
“All stores continue to have security resources allocated according to the risk profile of each store, ensuring support is directed where it is needed across the estate.”
Asda added that Mitie’s contract goes beyond traditional guarding and includes technology, Security Industry Authority-licensed officers, undercover detectives and rapid-response support for higher-risk locations.
Mitie said it was introducing a “dynamic security model” combining enhanced intelligence with a more targeted in-store presence.
The facilities management giant said the approach would strengthen protection by directing security support towards stores and locations where it was most needed.
GMB has written to Mitie chief executive Phil Bentley demanding that the redundancy process be paused, raising concerns that no comprehensive assessment had been carried out into the potential impact on customer and colleague safety.
The union also claimed the consultation, which is due to end on 24 July, was too short to allow meaningful engagement and that some security officers had been given incorrect information about the process.
GMB regional organiser Keith Dixon said: “Hundreds of security colleagues are facing the prospect of losing their job or seeing their hours cut, and they are deeply worried about what the future holds.
“Members are telling us this process feels like a done deal, not a meaningful consultation, and they have been hung out to dry by their new employer, Mitie.”
The dispute comes just months after more than 2,000 Asda security workers transferred to Mitie under TUPE regulations as part of a new multi-year contract.
Announced in January, the agreement covers more than 1,100 Asda locations and was intended to move the supermarket towards a more flexible, data-led security system.
At the time, Asda said it had recorded more than 30,000 incidents of verbal abuse and physical assault in its stores during the previous year, and described colleague and customer safety as an “absolute priority”.
The consultation is therefore likely to attract further scrutiny as Asda and Mitie seek to reassure workers that reducing security hours in some stores will not leave colleagues and shoppers more exposed.
UPDATE: Mitie shared with Retail Gazette the below message from an internal spokesperson.
“Our contract with Asda is to provide 1960 security officers. Following this consultation, the overall number of security officers deployed across Asda stores will not be reduced. We have more roles available than colleagues affected by the consultation and are currently recruiting for over 600 security roles on the Asda contract with SIA Accredited relief guards and preferred supplier agency guards being used to ensure stores are covered.”
“The consultation looks at proposed changes to certain security roles relating to working patterns, including aligning shifts to store risk profiles, and in some cases time and store locations. This is designed to strengthen store protection for customers and colleagues and ensure security resources are where they are needed most. Wherever possible, affected colleagues will be redeployed in suitable alternative roles either on the Asda contract or in other vacancies within Mitie.”
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