The supermarket chain Asda announced a massive restructuring yesterday – a move that puts 4,100 jobs into consultation.

The Walmart-owned company said that it would ditch existing department manager roles and would create section leader posts.

It claims the creation of the new position would create 5,000 new roles – meaning a net increase of 900 jobs.

"We haven’t updated our structure for five to six years," said Asda’s chief operating officer, Mark Ibbotson. "We believe we are about 18 months ahead of our competitors. They’re all going to have to do this."

The company also revealed like-for-likes had edged up 0.1% in the 15 weeks to April 20.

The company plans to make £1bn worth of savings in the next five years.