FEARS are growing that the 24-hour Asda store in Dumbarton will be forced to shed some of its workforce as part of a UK-wide cost cutting measure.

The food and retailing giant, owned by Walmart, is understood to be reviewing the market it services.

Numerous stores around the UK are included in the national consultation process.

The supermarket giant employs around 5,000 workers nationally, and while the company has stressed any proposed changes would only affect a small number of workers, there are fears that the axe could fall in some departments locally.

Last month, the Reporter's sister title the Clydebank Post reported workers at the Asda store in Clydebank could lose their jobs, although this was denied by the firm despite some workers claiming they'd already been told they faced redundancy.

Now speculation is growing jobs could be lost at the Dumbarton store as part of the austerity exercise.

The consultation exercise, labelled Project Renewal, threatens some Asda services where demand has petered out.

An Asda source, who asked not to be named, said: “The atmosphere has been very low for quite a while.

“They had a management change in September 2014 and a good few of the managers were made redundant, people who had given 20 plus years to the company were suddenly just let go to save Asda money.

“Other managers with far less experience were put into positions where they were running departments which more than one manager had been running before.

“Some didn’t do too well and the morale of the teams just dropped.

“Then some started leaving, quitting and being fired and again, with no hidden attempt to save cash, they didn’t replace most of them.”

The situation should become clearer next month when Asda’s 45-day consultation comes to an end.

The source added: “There has been a lot of talk about redundancy. They don’t know much until the 45-day consultancy period is over, so they know next to nothing.”

Locally, Dumbarton’s store employs nearly 300 people.

A spokeswoman for Asda would not confirm how many staff at Dumbarton are involved in the process but conceded that a “small number” of staff will be spoken to.

However, they emphasised that they would do everything to redeploy those who could be affected.

The spokeswoman added: “2015 was a tough year for UK supermarkets and Asda is no exception.

“The structure of UK grocery retailing has permanently changed to reflect the way that customers shop today.

“We know our customers better than anyone else and we need to make sure that our offer meets their changing needs.

“We have entered into a (45 day) consultation with our store colleagues on proposals which we believe will enable us to react more quickly by becoming a leaner and more agile business.

“These proposals are designed to make our stores easier to shop in and be more effective in delivering the low prices, quality and good value which customers tell us they want.”

GMB Scotland organiser Barry Fletcher told how his union is closely monitoring developments.

He said: “As the recognised union for the Asda employees we are in weekly consultation with Asda.

“It’s still early on in this consultation but any employees who may be affected should get in touch.”