Thousands of Asda staff received incorrect payments due to IT glitch

Mohsin Issa (left) has made Asda's move into IT his top priority, while Zuber Issa is reportedly trying to offload his 22.5 stake PC in supermarket Photo: John Super

But a wider attempt to wrest Asda's IT systems from former owner Walmart is still ongoing three years after the Issa brothers bought the supermarket for £6.8 billion.

< p> Setbacks in the project mean Asda still has to pay the US retailer to use the systems, although management hopes the transfer will be completed before the end of 2024.

Mohsin, who runs Asda's day-to-day operations, has named the transition to IT as one of his main goals, with sources saying he will not step aside until the transition is complete.

Last month he said , which has «come to a point» where it could hand over the reins, although industry sources warn Asda will struggle to find a replacement while Mohsin is still involved.

Wage issues. will increase attention on Asda at a time when the retailer's owners are in the spotlight.

Earlier this year, The Telegraph reported that Zuber Issa, Mohsin's brother, was trying to sell his 22.5% stake in Asda as he seeks to focus solely on EG Group's petrol station empire.

A potential change of ownership has occurred after EY stepped down as Asda's auditor, which coincided with Mohsin beginning a relationship with one of the Big Four firm's former partners.

Meanwhile, the supermarket is trying to win back customers amid mounting debt pressure.

The supermarket currently has around £4.2 billion in debt, which has led to hundreds of millions of pounds in interest costs.

The pressure spending has sparked discontent among many store managers given staff's reduced working hours, leading bosses to trial a four-day week to quell the rebellion. A spokesman for Asda said: «We recently launched a new people management system and carried out proactive reviews to identify any potential issues before colleagues are paid this month.»

«These reviews identified a potential issue with holiday pay, which could result in a difference in pay for some hourly colleagues payment. We have taken immediate and proactive steps to rectify this – to ensure that these colleagues do not face a pay gap this month. Project Future will provide Asda with a world-class IT platform.»