Lowe's cuts managers, plans lots more part-timers

[The Straight Story]

Lowe's cuts managers, plans lots more part-timers
By Parija Kavilanz, senior writerJanuary 26, 2011: 8:36 AM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Lowe's Cos., the No. 2 home improvement retail chain, is cutting 1,700 managerial jobs while adding up to 10,000 part-time workers in order to better staff its stores for weekend shoppers.

Lowe's (LOW, Fortune 500) informed employees Tuesday about the layoffs, said company spokeswoman Chris Ahearn.

"We are restructuring our operation model to put more employees in stores during the peak time," said Ahearn.

The move eliminates 1,700 middle management positions as the company "flattens" its management structure into two levels instead of three, now represented by store managers and assistant managers.

At the same time, Ahearn said Lowe's is also hiring between 8,000 to 10,000 part-time workers nationwide to improve customer service in stores over the weekends.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/26/news/companies/lowes_layoffs/

[pkz]

1. Wanna know how they told the employees?

Came around with a memo from home office, showed it to dept. managers...said your position has ended.

Not, done in a month, or the end of week, hell, it didn't even say later today....it meant immediately.

[Raine]

4. Nice, real nice

:sarcasm:

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. Why not just cut executive salaries by 0.5%, then hire new workers?

[Jkid]

5. That's a better option. But that will never happen...

[somone]

3. Part-timers with no benefits

[HockeyMom]

7. nothing new

retail, another others, have been doing this for decades. Why I got out of the office, so to speak. Hire 2 part timeers with no benefits, instead of one full timer with benefits. CHEAPER.

[madinmaryland]

13. ding, ding, ding!!!!

That's what it is all about.

[DJ13]

6. That same plan worked so well for Circuit City Im surprised they waited this long

[sarcasmo]

8. Stay classy Lowe's. This is why I shop at the local hardware store. F, big box marts.

[madinmaryland]

14. Easier said than done. I don't even know where there are any around here.

The only local hardware store I know of is in Terryville, CT about 400 miles away.

:shrug:

[karnac]

9. You get too big, your obligations get big too.

particularly if you promise perpetual retirement obligations to your long term employees. Solution? no more long term
employees!

You stay small, or have multiple small businesses, the less chance of that happening. how often you hear of small businesses ACTUALLY providing a pension that lasts?



What we need is a national socialism! where the state,(and those paying the bills) will guarantee sufficient income to keep everybody happy. and will do what ever it it takes to do so in the state/country. those who amass wealth must be forbidden from leaving without paying a SEVERE and ULTIMATE penalty!!!


that'll teach them!!!

[WinkyDink]

15. Oh, you're hilarious. Because of course SOMEONE with our finiteness on a planet should SUFFER

before, God forbid, we had a SOCIALIST society.

[tridim]

19. Costco got big and still treats its employees well.

If they can do it, any corporation can.

[Leftist Agitator]

26. Costco pwns Sam's Club in profitability per worker-hour.

And the reason for that is that they pay their workers so well that their workers never leave. They don't have to constantly invest in training new employees, so their staff's productivity is through the roof.

Sam's Club, on the other hand, pays their workers shit wages, they have a very high rate of turnover, and thus they make less money given their HR inputs.

But then, the differences are reflective of their respective corporate philosophies; Costco is concerned with sustainable long-term growth, and all Sam's Club cares about is their quarterly bottom line.

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. ....

:silly:

[TBF]

22. You need to do some reading. Start with looking up the definition

of socialism and then we'll go from there.

[Urban Prairie]

24. Uh...what is "a national socialism" ?

I think that I smell a pizza cooking.

[Gold Metal Flake]

27. ...

<decloak> Fail. </decloak>

[Codeine]

29. Go away, silly little person. nt

[Urban Prairie]

10. Some bean counter figured out the cost of providing a salary & benefits

for 1700 FT managers would be more than off-set by eliminating them and adding PT employees with absolutely none.

I would be very surprised if they actually will "permanently" hire even half of what they are claiming will be 8000-10,000 new PT employees, and if they do, likely more than half will get shed anyway after the "dust" settles, and most of those who remain will work only on weekends, with most perhaps at best averaging 12 hours total per week.


Lowes might even put many on an on-call basis, meaning that they might get just 6 hours one week, and 18 (filling in on a weekday for sicktime) the next. PT workers are just soo flexible like that.

Likely they will also arrange the schedules of the PTers, so that they will most often get just one 10-15 minute break and no lunch.

But they will still have to pay unemployment compensation for 1700 ex-managers.

Lowe's: just another example of corporations who deserve no loyalty, nor should they elicit any pride in being their employee.

[karnac]

11. shop local and small!

so only the owner and a couple part timers earn instead of 10. that will teach lowes and show them what's what!

[WinkyDink]

17. You own Lowe's stock?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

23. Ah, I get it.

Small business bad. Big business good. Competition bad. Monopoly/duopoly good.

Thanks for clearing that up for us.

[girl gone mad]

25. I shop local and small.

I would rather the owner and a couple part timers get my money than give a dime to overpaid corporate trash.

[SoCalDem]

12. Hungry part timers will be at the beck and call, and ready to stay late

come in early and will work odd hours..

fulltimers usually had set hours, and if they were guaranteed 40, there was no leeway without having to pay them overtime.

Years ago, my boss hated to do the schedules, so he would often have me do it.. I would come up with a great schedule (using the graphs of course)...nice & tight, but using seniority & giving people the hours they actually liked to work...
and then he would decide to "review it"..

and all of a sudden we had women who had school kids having to work a swing 3-11, when everyone knew her husband would not be home before she had to leave for work..

and we would have people low on the totem pole getting six 4 hr shifts, instead of four 6hr shifts.

he would swap shifts so that some people worked until 10 PM and were scheduled back at at 7 AM (law said 8 hrs between shifts)

and then there were the ones who kissed a lot of ass & always had "sacred" shifts..

I hated it when he asked me to do the schedules:(

[Sherman A1]

16. Exactly right

That's how "the game" is played.....

I would just add try working until 10pm drive 45 minutes home and be back at work the next morning at 5am. That's the reality in retail.

[Urban Prairie]

21. I was a PT flexible worker once upon a time

Who worked for a company that operated 'round the clock, I had to be ready to work within or prior to any shift, the former often just to cover the entire spread of FT employees' staggered lunch breaks for 4 hours, and could be called in to work as soon as an hour prior to my start time. Sucked when it was 1:30 on a winter morning and snowing, but ya do what ya have to do...

[theophilus]

18. Well, if anyONE or any PARTY can bring really GOOD jobs back strong, that

person or party, imo, will be loved by the common workers for quite a while. Is there any hope this will happen?

[Terra Alta]

28. All big box stores are doing this.

I work at Wal-mart, and all they are hiring is part-time. Eventually all the stores are going to be run on part-time help(except for salaried managers). I'm currently full-time, but if I were ever to leave I would be replaced by two part-timers. It's all about the bottom line.