'They don't care': US supermarket chain shutters stores after hazard pay rules

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the US which makes hundred of millions of dollars in profits, is shutting down grocery stores and laying off scores of employees in response to local hazard pay rules for essential workers even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.

Maria Hernandez has worked at Ralphs grocery stores for 25 years before she recently found out her store would be shutting down. She’s worked through the pandemic and caught the coronavirus in May 2020. She still experiences lingering, long-term effects from it, and has dealt with panic attacks and anxiety from the stress and pressures placed on essential workers.

“Why are they punishing us?” said Hernandez. “If it weren’t for us they couldn’t run the stores. As a person we have value. As workers we have value. They don’t seem to care about you as a human being. They don’t care.”

In response to a local ordinance passed by the Los Angeles city council on 3 March to grant frontline workers at large employers a $5-an-hour hazard pay increase for 120 days, Kroger announced plans to shut down three grocery stores in the city, eliminating more than 250 jobs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/they-dont-care-us-supermarket-chain-shutters-stores-after-hazard-pay-rules/ar-BB1eZhhC?li=BBnb7Kz

[Rorey]

1. King Soopers used to be my favorite store

That's our Kroger's here in Colorado.

I used to do almost all of my shopping there, but I don't go in very often anymore since my daughter had a run-in with a store employer over the mask issue. My daughter, against what I would consider to be better judgement, questioned why a worker wasn't wearing a mask, and ugly words were exchanged. Then I got involved and escalated it to corporate. There were shallow apologies, but I lost my affection for King Soopers and I only go there on rare occasion now.

[lapfog_1]

2. fun with math

120 days is 17 weeks...

17 x 40hrs/wk x 250 employees x $5 = $850,000 total

about $70,000 per store per month.

typical grocery stores generate $65,000 per day... so they are talking about adding 1/30 in additional costs or about 3%.

Of course they could spread the additional cost over more stores and longer time making the increase in prices ( because they NEVER want to give up any profits) almost negligible.

I doubt many shoppers would even blink at 3% increase in prices... especially if the chain were to explain that they fully support the hazard pay.

short sighted.

[jimfields33]

3. I don't think these 3 particular stores made any profit at all

Hence shutting down. If it was the 5 dollar issue, a lot more would close down.

[wcast]

4. This is the way it always goes.

These corporations don’t mind losing money in the short term as they have their eyes on the long term. Pay these employees and show that the corporations are still successful, people now want and might support a living wage. Shut down they will blame the politicians and whine about how raising minimum wage will force them to lay off workers.

It’s devious but this is how all management thinks and acts, regardless of the industry.