Woolworths dramatic store changes save $50m a year but have ruined staff morale and annoyed suppliers
- Woolworths has made drastic alterations to rosters, pays and store roles
- The changes could save them $50m annually but have negatively impacted staff
- The company insisted that the new measures would lead to any job losses
- But thousands of staff have left or have been forced down to lower paying roles
Woolworths has made drastic changes to rosters, pays and store roles that could save them $50 million annually but have in-turn negatively impacted employees and suppliers.
The changes, which were implemented in June, led to alterations in the supermarket’s departments and saw roles being streamlined as team leaders were replaced with one team manager.
Although Woolworths insisted the new measures would not impact its 1,000 stores or lead to any job losses, sources have revealed that this is anything but the case, as reported by The Financial Review.
Woolworths has made drastic changes to rosters, pays and store roles that could save them $50 million dollars annually but have in-turn negatively impacted employees and suppliers
Since the company’s restructure, upwards of 1,000 staff are believed to have taken redundancy or quit without severance payments and another thousand have had to move down to lower-paying positions.
Chris Gillie’s pay decreased from $26.02 an hour to $23.30 an hour when he was forced to cease his role as a duty manager and apply for an assistant team manager role instead.
Another staff member from Western Australia in the payroll role was told her salary would be cut by $20,000, after which she took redundancy.
Since the store’s new structure, upwards of 1000 have taken redundancy or quit without severance payments and another few thousand have had to move down to lower-paying positions
Woolworths also made adjustments to rosters which led to improved service levels and better stocked shelves due to alterations made to late shifts and start times.
The union believes the impact of the new changes on the store’s morale could affect customers as suppliers face difficulties due to the decrease in experienced managers.
‘It’s smashed morale and destroyed their relationship with very long-term staff,’ RAFFWU secretary Josh Cullinan said.
‘We expect it will have a lasting and very significant impact on the staff experience and therefore the customer experience,’ he added.
The union believes the impact of the new changes on the store’s moral could affect customers as suppliers face difficulties due to the decrease in experienced managers
Woolworths’ managing director Claire Peters said she understands the transition can be challenging for staff but insisted ‘the team attitude measure in our voice of customer scores have remained stable’.
‘As we embed the new model, our customers will notice more team members on the shop floor, especially in key trading periods on weekends and after 6pm. These periods, which attract penalty rates, are when our customers want to shop and we’re aligning our rosters to meet these changing needs,’ she said.
She went on to say that the new changes will benefit the company in the long-run as well as the thousands of staff it supports.
Woolworths’ managing director, Claire Peters, insisted that the new changes will benefit the company in the long-run as well as the thousands of staff it supports