Asda has announced plans to axe up to 1,000 jobs as part of a review of staffing levels.
Around 185 management positions are to be cut at its head office in Leeds with a further 15 to go at its George offices in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.
On average, four to five management positions are also to be cut from each store, affecting 1,200 people, although the retailer said around 400 of these employees would be redeployed.
Asda said the job cuts were part of "a number of wide-ranging changes designed to simplify, re-focus and re-energise the business for future success”.
Asda chief executive Andy Bond said the changes are designed to "re-ignite our business over the next 12 to 18 months".
He told the BBC: “Whilst it's the right thing to do for our business, we say goodbye to some great colleagues this week and I thank them for all they have done for Asda.
"While our sales have slowed in recent months as the economy's tightened, Asda is no retail straggler."
However, union bosses said there had been insufficient consultation with staff over the cuts.
Neil Derrick from the GMB union in Leeds said junior managers in particular had "certainly [been] left feeling that they have been treated without the respect they deserve".
While Asda remains the UK’s second largest retailer, recent times have seen them lose ground to Tesco, while a resurgent Sainsbury’s is fast approaching from third place.
In addition to the job cuts, Asda also announced this week that two former directors are to rejoin its board.
David Cheesewright is to take on responsibility for trading and logistics following his return from a 12-month attachment as chief operating officer for parent company Wal-Mart in Canada.
And Andy Clarke is to return to Asda after a three-year gap to be retail director, the position he left in 2002 to work at Matalan and Iceland.
