Asos boss Nick Beighton hits Twitter to take on coronavirus critics
Last week we reported GMB union claims that Asos was “playing Russian roulette with people’s lives” as it failed to enforce social distancing in a packed warehouse.
The GMB has been very vocal about this on social media. This resulted in Asos CEO Nick Beighton taking the union on via his Twitter account.
Responding to an observation that a flash sale was not essential in these challenging times, he tweeted: “It’s the mid season sale not a flash sale .. facts are really important and sometimes inconvenient to your stories I know.. but stay with facts please.”
“Happy saturday .. you still don’t have any facts .. you have never been in the facility,” he added, when challenged about conditions in Asos’ warehouse in Grimethorpe, Barnsley.
Labour MP Sarah Owen then joined the debate, stating: “We may not have had the pleasure of visiting your warehouse, but been on your website and struggling to see any items which could classify as essential during this crisis - why are you risking workers’ lives?”
“Sarah we are operating under the authority and encouragement of the government .. where they have explicitly encouraged online business to continue for the good of the economy, jobs but with enhanced health and safety measures,” Beighton replied.
‘Simply not true’
RTIH reached out to Asos, requesting comment on the GMB’s aforementioned claims.
“We totally refute the allegations. They are false, do nothing more than serve to create panic and hysteria in an already uncertain time, and are part of a continuing campaign against us and the recognised union on site, Community,” a spokesperson told us.
“It is simply not true to say we don’t have social distancing protocols in place and it is not true to say that we have thousands of employees working under one roof. The reality is we typically have around 500 colleagues working in our 680,000 square feet facility at any one time and we have strict social distancing protocols in place but, it must be said, it is also our colleagues’ responsibility to adhere to them.”
The spokesperson added that, as directed by the government, it, along with other online retailers, is ensuring it strikes the right balance between keeping its warehouse operational and maintaining the health and safety of staff, “which is always our number one priority”.