As part of the change, staff will “collaborate together on tasks” rather than work individually in departments.
Woolworth New Zealand says it will overhaul supermarket operations, close two Auckland supermarkets and restructure its role within the store, and the company says it will increase efficiency, but the union will come at the expense of thousands of experienced workers.
Under the change, departments like bakeries and butchers are freed, and staff are “collaborating together on tasks” rather than being assigned to different departments instead.
Supermarkets say the new structure will put more people on-site at peak times, opening clearer paths of leadership.
But first union retail director-general Rudd Hughes said the restructuring would cut the salaries of many senior staff and reduce time as the role would be replaced by a lower-paid, newly created position.
He warned that long-time workers may be forced to take redundancy or accept pay cuts, especially in small towns with few job options.
A longtime Woolworth employee whose role is being resolved said the staff at their store were “upset and angry.”
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“We have a lot of butchers and bakers who have served the nation for a long time,” the person said anonymously due to company restrictions.
“Many of them know they’re leaving rather than cutting their pay on a large scale to stay at work. We’re losing a lot of experience in these positions. I think customers will inevitably notice differences in their products.”
The restructuring follows a tough year for Woolworths, facing declines in revenue, rising costs and public pressure.
Last year, the Australian parent reduced the value of its New Zealand business by $1.6 billion, with workers backing off a 6.8% wage rise after describing it as a “difficult” negotiation process.
Spencer Sonn, managing director of Woolworths, left the company at the end of March and oversaw millions of dollars of improvements, including a rebranding from the countdown to Woolworths during his four-year tenure.
The company says the new staffing model will be rolled out in other parts of the country, starting in May, before it is trialed at stores on the upper North Island.
