[ad_1]
Retailer The Warehouse Group was confronted at its annual shareholders’ meeting by an employee whose hours were cut in a recent restructuring, which said it left him with just $ 25 a week for groceries.
The company has come under fire this year for continuing with its plan to cut jobs and reduce working hours for many employees during the Covid-19 pandemic, while also claiming wage subsidy payments from the government.
During the meeting, shareholders were shown a prerecorded video message from founder Sir Stephen Tindall, who is retiring from the board, as he reviewed key milestones in the retailer’s history and emphasized the importance of “members of his team.”
But in the question and answer session at the end of the meeting, a staff member named Carl challenged the company, saying that adjustments to his list had left him with just $ 25 a week for groceries. He apologized for his appearance and said that he had just had a $ 6,000 nose job.
READ MORE:
* Online Sales Soar, But The Warehouse Says Wage Subsidies Still Needed
* Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall is retiring from the company after nearly 40 years.
* 950 jobs to finish: Union tells The Warehouse using the Covid-19 excuse
* Warehouse manager denies miscommunication over job cuts
* The net profit of the warehouse decreases 20%
The Warehouse confirmed in September that it would reorganize roles at 62 stores. The move was expected to result in the loss of up to 750 jobs. The number of working hours would be reduced overall and workers would stop specializing in categories in the store.
Scott Hammond / Stuff
Hundreds of The Warehouse workers have been affected by job cuts and workforce changes.
In response, President Joan Withers said she “deeply sympathized” with team members who had been affected by the changes. However, he said the retailer was responding to changes in shopping behavior and needed to remain “fit for purpose.”
“People are changing their shopping habits,” he said. “We have to be able to serve our customers where and when they want to buy.”
The company’s work lists lacked flexibility and the company needed to meet the needs of more people who shop on the weekends and online, he said.
“It’s a desperately difficult thing to do,” he said.
The company was providing assistance to the affected workers and promised to speak with Carl in the back of the room after the meeting.
CEO Nick Grayston, who chaired the changes, said he identified.
“That’s what keeps me awake at night … when I think about the people who have been affected,” he said.
Supplied
Warehouse CEO Nick Grayston says he stays up at night thinking about the people affected by the retailer’s restructuring.
In his video message, Tindall said that he would continue to mentor the company as a champion of sustainability.
However, Carl also criticized the company on this front, saying that he noticed in his work that many of their products have much more packaging than they used to, using the example of cutting boards that used to be packed together in a box of cardboard and were now individually wrapped in plastic bags that had to be removed.
In response, Grayston said the company had put out tons of packaging, but acknowledged there was much more to do.
Shares of The Warehouse Group last traded at $ 2.60 and are down 7.5 percent this year.
