We used to be skyrocketing to the top, all other big box markets were trying to copy us. We enjoyed our spotlight too much for too long. Our conventional competitors took time adjusting their mindsets, programs, and stores to compete with us within their own framework. We grew fat as a company off of our own hype. Even once the conventionals began unveiling their new organic lines and expanding the marketing of their cultural missions, we did little more than talk about it, send TLs and STLs to walk their stores, see what they offer we do not, and minor ways we could combat either the new stores cropping up or surmise (and almost always downplay) the impact they would have. Now we are in a position where they, depending on how you look at it, are beating, coming close to beating or making huge strides to overtake us in our own game. Conventionals are changing their look. Newer competition (Sprouts) copied our look. They are carrying our products, they have expanded their organic/natural private labels to compete directly with our own. At a Kroger subsidiary, I've increasingly seen employee manned pop ups selling ice cream floats and other things we have done in the past. There are hanging signs promoting their local farms. The list can go on, but I choose not to. The point is, they are recreating our "uniqueness" within their structure. None of this is news to most of you. My point is our higher ups, should have seen the greater impact of this much earlier on and acted. The truth is we have been overspending in frivolous things globally. We've known we needed to cut costs for years. We've known we needed to rethink our identity and structure. This goes beyond a greedy board of directors and us being publicly held. I see as much arrogance as I do greed. Clearly these layoffs and changes were being planned by central for many months prior to us finding out. For the most part I am personally glad I was blindsided with my position being dissolved, because it meant I was offered a fair severance package. We wouldn't have gotten those if notice had been given. Even if they knew this many months in advance, they were still way too slow to the rodeo, and when they got there they completely mishandled it.
If we are going to try and use some of the cost cutting strategies employed by our competitors, we need to have the infrastructure in place to do so. If you are driving a 2004 hatchback Honda Civic and want it to act like a 2015 Mustang, you don't just add racing stripes to it and expect it to perform. If you are removing buyers, Team Leaders, Marketers, PBSs, you need to have the infrastructure in place to do so. Sure autordering and autoscheduling are coming. We are taking these practices from the big box stores. We need those in place BEFORE we lose the people doing those jobs currently.I am completely boggled, that the best solution central had in their months of planning was to axe the jobs before a suitable infrastructure was in place to better manage these losses and changes. Why didn't we have a true hiring freeze on signmaking, Marketing, buyers, etc much further in advance? Our interview process is brutal. Why make people interview for positions that would be removed weeks later? This post is already much longer than I planned. If you skipped to the end, my point is this. A smart company has infrastructure already in place when it changes operations and removes positions. It doesn't cut it's workforce dramatically before the holidays, without the systems in place that are supposed to carry the burden of the missing positions. This is a major mistake by those making the calls. I understand a business has to change and adapt. The conventionals did it right, when emulating our extravagance. We have done it wrong when emulating their leanness. It's easy to run a company when you are the darling of the industry, our leadership has no idea how to do it when in difficult times and it is showing. I don't expect things to change. I only hope you offer the same or better severance packages to the next round of layoffs that are coming in January. You have already made your greatest stakeholders, your team members, feel overworked, uncertain, unwanted, and unappreciated, Try and handle the next round with a bit more compassion, and don't cut back on the severance or try and cut people on a date that will invalidated their benefits days later. Goodbye Whole Foods, it was fun while it lasted.