[ad_1]
A restructuring proposal was confirmed at dozens of The Warehouse stores in New Zealand, and store workers were informed this week of the changes.
A spokesperson for The Warehouse confirmed that the company expects to cut about 320 full-time equivalent jobs, a total of 12,800 hours per week, from its staffing rosters.
That wouldn’t mean 320 people would lose their jobs entirely, as the cuts are partially made up of reductions in the number of hours offered to staff.
Your playlist will load after this announcement.
First Union’s Tali Williams says the company is looking to cut 5,000 hours overall. Source: Breakfast
They added that they won’t know the final number of affected jobs or the reduction in hours until the process is complete, but First Union has said “the plan will hurt thousands of workers.”
Tali Williams, First Union’s secretary of retail and finance, said that many members of The Warehouse had opted for voluntary layoff rather than facing unviable and disruptive hours, and said the loss of jobs will lead to the layoff of a significant number of experienced staff. .
He said customers would likely notice a shortage of staff at the stores after the restructuring, and said staff had raised concerns about their ability to carry out current store tasks under the new schedules.
Workers at several branches were informed yesterday of the decision to proceed with the restructuring, and a spokesperson for The Warehouse confirmed that meetings with staff are ongoing.
“Based on feedback from our team, The Warehouse has reached broad agreement with 30 stores on proposed new scheduled hours that reflect customer needs,” the spokesperson said.
“These stores are expected to go on the updated listings starting in early October.
“El Almacén this week began a series of meetings with the remaining stores where the availability provided did not match the proposed lists.
“While we are never happy to have to make changes that may affect people’s roles, our store listings have not changed in many years.
“Over time, we have found more customers who choose to shop at night and on weekends, and more customers who shop online and use Click & Collect, particularly since Covid-19.
“The process, which began in June, has consisted of working with First Union and representatives from our store team to understand the availability of hours at each store, discuss how customers’ shopping habits are changing, and how we may need to adapt our schedules for each individual store.
“Based on feedback from team members during this process to date, we have also made changes to the proposed lists.”
During the consultation with The Warehouse, Williams said the company had initially planned to cut twice as many hours, but had faced pushback from workers who told them it was not possible to run the stores with that level of staff, and in response The Warehouse had reduced the number of hours being cut.
Williams said changes are the last thing workers need at “such a precarious time in history.”
“Unfortunately, The Warehouse has made it clear that it is a win before the people in terms of its future operations, so the restructuring will continue as planned, but the fight is far from over,” Williams said.
“The pandemic should not be seen as a backdrop to this restructuring, and I urge other companies not to look to The Warehouse’s opportunistic example and instead invest in their workers and their communities when they need it most.
“Good employers keep their staff, pay people more, improve their skills and hire new people, and they will benefit in the long-term recovery from the pandemic, as do the communities of which they are part. “.
Williams said First Union will now seek to support workers throughout the process to ensure they are treated fairly and receive all of their rights.
The Warehouse has done several rounds of layoffs in recent years.
