Asda has confirmed its first set of job cuts after recording its worst Christmas sales since 2015. 

The supermarket’s chairman, Allan Leighton, cut 13 regional manager positions in a shake-up designed to reduce staff and improve performance, according to The Telegraph. 

Four of the roles are in the retail sector of the company and nine are from its Express stores. 

During the 12 weeks to 29 December, sales fell by 5.8%, data from Kantar showed. 

Workers were sent a memo explaining the restructuring would mean its stores would be managed across 22 “sub-regions,” down from 30.

“Change is never easy and unfortunately we have had to say goodbye to a number of colleagues,” the memo read. 

An Asda spokesperson told Money: “We made changes to our field-based retail team regions to reflect the scale of our business across large stores and convenience.

“These changes set us up to serve our customers in the best way for 2025 as we deliver Asda price and other exciting propositions.”