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Warehouse staff at 62 stores across the country were called to meetings Wednesday to hear about revised list options as part of restructuring plans that are expected to cost 750 jobs.
Workers at those stores rejected an earlier proposal last month.
Warehouse Group COO Pejman Okhovat said Wednesday that staff at 30 other stores reached an agreement with the company last month on new lists to be rolled out in October.
The meetings come after months of uncertainty for the company’s retail staff.
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The Warehouse announced in July that up to 1080 jobs could go as part of a major restructuring across the group.
The number of working hours would be reduced across the board and workers would stop specializing in categories in the store.
SCOTT HAMMOND / THINGS
Staff from 62 The Warehouse stores were called into a meeting to discuss new sorting plans.
The Warehouse proposed eliminating 782 jobs through the new lists, plus another 137 through store closings. The company also proposed an unknown number of head office job cuts and had already closed The Warehouse in Birkenhead, with the loss of 40 jobs.
The proposal also included a change in store hours nationwide.
The Warehouse Group includes The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, Torpedo7, 1-day and TheMarket, with 258 stores nationwide and around 12,000 employees.
Six group stores will be closed over the next six months as part of the restructuring, including Noel Leeming Henderson Clearance Center and a Tokoroa store, The Warehouse Whangaparaoa, Johnsonville and Dunedin Central stores, and the Warehouse Stationery in Te Awamutu.
Okhovat said the meetings were part of the next phase of his consultation process on his operating model and rosters.
There was more consultation with store workers about the lists needed to address changes in shopping behaviors, Okhovat said.
The number of customers shopping in stores has decreased, while online sales have increased significantly, according to internal documents viewed by Stuff.
Supplied
Warehouse Group COO Pejman Okhovat says the company has established a scholarship to help retrain staff laid off during the company’s restructuring process.
Workers would be able to request shifts based on the proposed rosters and the process was expected to be completed in mid to late October, he said.
The restructuring was still expected to cost 500 to 750 jobs, he said.
“However, we will not know precise numbers until the consultation is completed,” he said.
The Warehouse Group launched a fund and grant to help train staff who had been laid off.
First Union has been contacted for comment.
