Woolworths announces devastating news - about 500 jobs to be lost as butcher service shuts down for good
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It's no secret that the retail sector has been suffering in recent years due to the immense economic pressure placed upon it by the COVID-induced crisis.
Regrettably, even giant retailers such as Woolworths have been feeling the heat.
And now, the supermarket chain has announced that they’re going to make an unprecedented move, effectively downsizing their meat departments in hundreds of stores across the country.
Woolies confirmed that the decision is going to be devastating for hundreds of employees in its stores nationwide as in-store butcher shops will be closing down for good by the end of March.
The move is expected to lay off 489 jobs.
At present, there are 300 Woolworths stores in Australia running with a butcher shop service. After the decision, it’s expected that these stores will only carry pre-packaged meat options in-store.
A Woolworths spokesperson explained that customer habits have been shifting recently which prompted the move. In recent years, customers have seemingly opted for pre-packaged options more often than freshly cut meats from an in-store butcher shop.
The representative explained: 'We’ve recently conducted a review into our in-store butcher shops and found that they account for just four per cent of meat sales as customers continue to move towards our more convenient pre-packaged options.'
‘We have around 1,000 supermarkets [across Australia], and about 300 currently have butcher shops. We’ve made the difficult decision to close the majority of our remaining butcher counters over the coming months, with the exception of 50 stores where they are supported by the necessary customer demand.’
‘We deeply regret the impact of this decision on the team members who work in our butcher shops and we know many of them are well known by our regular customers.’
‘We’re very grateful for the contribution these team members have made and we’ll be offering redeployment to another role for those who are interested, or re-employment support for those who leave the business.’
‘Across all stores, we’ll continue to offer our customers high-quality fresh meat through our wide selection of pre-cut case-ready meats that are conveniently packaged to pick up on the go.’
It’s understood that Woolworths closely observed customer purchasing habits in thousands of stores over the recent months. In that time, they’ve noticed a definite and clear trend: customers favour pre-packaged meat products over freshly cut meats from an in-store butcher shop.
Only 10 per cent of shoppers opt for an in-store butcher shop as it seems that customers are largely satisfied with the conveniently packaged meat at other stores’ butcher counters.
Additionally, it was reported that only 50 in-store butchers will remain nationwide.
The supermarket giant said that the remaining in-store butcher shops have been selected as locations where their meat trade is supported by sufficient customer demand.
Around 200 team members who currently split their shift between the butcher shop and other areas of the store will have their rosters changed to only include shifts in other departments.
The option of being redeployed to another job within the supermarket group will be offered to other team members whose roles are deemed redundant as a result of the transformation.
Meanwhile, employees who do not want to be redeployed will be provided with free post-employment support which includes ‘individual career coaching, resume development, a job search plan, LinkedIn profile and interview coaching, connections to relevant employment and training opportunities in their local area and financial planning support'.
Members, while the shift towards pre-packaged meat is understandable, we at the SDC understand the need to keep jobs in Australia and the local economy going. This has been a sad situation and we hope affected workers can find support throughout this challenging period.
What are your thoughts on this? Better yet, do you think the shift in consumer preference for pre-packaged meat over butchered meat makes sense? Or do you prefer getting your meat supplies from local butchers?
Regrettably, even giant retailers such as Woolworths have been feeling the heat.
And now, the supermarket chain has announced that they’re going to make an unprecedented move, effectively downsizing their meat departments in hundreds of stores across the country.
Woolies confirmed that the decision is going to be devastating for hundreds of employees in its stores nationwide as in-store butcher shops will be closing down for good by the end of March.
The move is expected to lay off 489 jobs.
At present, there are 300 Woolworths stores in Australia running with a butcher shop service. After the decision, it’s expected that these stores will only carry pre-packaged meat options in-store.
Woolworths announced laying off almost 500 jobs after management decided to permanently shut down in-store butchers. Credit: Shutterstock.
A Woolworths spokesperson explained that customer habits have been shifting recently which prompted the move. In recent years, customers have seemingly opted for pre-packaged options more often than freshly cut meats from an in-store butcher shop.
The representative explained: 'We’ve recently conducted a review into our in-store butcher shops and found that they account for just four per cent of meat sales as customers continue to move towards our more convenient pre-packaged options.'
‘We have around 1,000 supermarkets [across Australia], and about 300 currently have butcher shops. We’ve made the difficult decision to close the majority of our remaining butcher counters over the coming months, with the exception of 50 stores where they are supported by the necessary customer demand.’
‘We deeply regret the impact of this decision on the team members who work in our butcher shops and we know many of them are well known by our regular customers.’
‘We’re very grateful for the contribution these team members have made and we’ll be offering redeployment to another role for those who are interested, or re-employment support for those who leave the business.’
‘Across all stores, we’ll continue to offer our customers high-quality fresh meat through our wide selection of pre-cut case-ready meats that are conveniently packaged to pick up on the go.’
Woolworths claimed that there has been a shift in customer preference for pre-packaged meat over meat purchased from in-store butchers. Credit: TikTok/@woolworths_au.
It’s understood that Woolworths closely observed customer purchasing habits in thousands of stores over the recent months. In that time, they’ve noticed a definite and clear trend: customers favour pre-packaged meat products over freshly cut meats from an in-store butcher shop.
Only 10 per cent of shoppers opt for an in-store butcher shop as it seems that customers are largely satisfied with the conveniently packaged meat at other stores’ butcher counters.
Additionally, it was reported that only 50 in-store butchers will remain nationwide.
The supermarket giant said that the remaining in-store butcher shops have been selected as locations where their meat trade is supported by sufficient customer demand.
Around 200 team members who currently split their shift between the butcher shop and other areas of the store will have their rosters changed to only include shifts in other departments.
The option of being redeployed to another job within the supermarket group will be offered to other team members whose roles are deemed redundant as a result of the transformation.
Meanwhile, employees who do not want to be redeployed will be provided with free post-employment support which includes ‘individual career coaching, resume development, a job search plan, LinkedIn profile and interview coaching, connections to relevant employment and training opportunities in their local area and financial planning support'.
Members, while the shift towards pre-packaged meat is understandable, we at the SDC understand the need to keep jobs in Australia and the local economy going. This has been a sad situation and we hope affected workers can find support throughout this challenging period.
What are your thoughts on this? Better yet, do you think the shift in consumer preference for pre-packaged meat over butchered meat makes sense? Or do you prefer getting your meat supplies from local butchers?
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