Yorkshire based ASDA announced merger with Sainsbury's

This morning hundreds of Asda workers in stores in Hull, Goole, Scunthorpe and Grimsby are finding out what the chain's merger with Sainsbury's will mean for them.

Sainsbury's insists there are no planned store closures, and they want to maintain BOTH brands - as they buy the Yorkshire-based supermarket from American Walmart.

The deal will create a grocery powerhouse rivalling Tesco.

Commenting on the announcement made by J Sainsbury’s this morning on the proposed merger of Asda Group Ltd and J Sainsbury plc, Asda President and CEO Roger Burnley said;

“The combination of Asda and Sainsbury's into a single retailing group will be great news for Asda customers, allowing us to deliver even lower prices in store and even greater choice. Asda will continue to be Asda, but by coming together with Sainsbury's, supported by Walmart, we can further accelerate our existing strategy and make our offer even more compelling and competitive.

From my six years with Asda and ten years with Sainsbury's, I know first hand that both organisations are fortunate to employ some of the most talented and customer-focused colleagues in this market and I am excited by the opportunity of the two coming together.