Thread regarding Whole Foods Market Inc. layoffs

To be honest...its mixed. Some were super talented and rocked it. They went out of their way to help amp up larger campaigns and displays. And others..well, abhorrent little trolls- lazy, selfish and manipulative beyond all comprehension. Would find every excuse to blame other people for their failings and the fact that they really werent that good to begin with. No sense of urgency, no basic understanding of desigm/layout, and dear god...there were some who could barely handle writing their own name legible enough to be considered actual letters and you idealized them like they were leonardo da vinci? Wtf is wrong in your world where you cant even distinguish quality work done quickly over someone who just doesnt give a damn anymore and could get away with shit that looks like what my kid brings home from kindergarten to plaster the fridge with?

Its a position that was necessary for a time, but i consider it moderately obselete with how the company is restructuring. The goods ones will survive on the outside and be recognized for their talents in other places

..the rest will probably end up manning the paint counter at home depot. Wfm is way behind the times when it comes to efficient signing. People act like access via is such a new concept. Other retailera have been using their own brand of it for over a decade. Mind numbingly easy. Anyone could do it. Keeping artists on board at this point is a disservice to everyone. Yes I get that it made every store unique, but that time has passed. Move on.

The store graphic artists are the only reason Whole Foods doesn't look and feel like a Pathmark or a Ralph's or an Acme or a Kroger's. They also take care of random things like the prices and amounts in signs being right. I've been to stores without the signmakers and usually the signage is all wrong and out of date. Perhaps those are tasks that other TMs can pick up but in my experience they don't. It's like what happened in NYC when they did away with the SSIs. Supposedly the TLs and ATLs were going to split that work among the depts but what ended up happening was that everything was out of whack and Whore Foods got dinged by NY state for overcharging (there was plenty of undercharging going on too...) and now there is also a class action against the corporation. Basically eliminating the position to save pennies is going to cost them millions. It's easy to think someone else doesn't do anything when you are not the one doing their job...

it was a nice perk when the company wasn't desperate

The position is pretty easy to eliminate. In the NE all they do is print, laminate and cut. I love our SGA but it's a position that can go metro. Those fancy chalks could easily be large printed sales signs.

Our signmakers were educated professionals who excelled at their work. Unfortunately most of them are gone. Their holiday work from years past remains in use. It's kind of eerie.

They mostly sit on their tush all day.

Why do you think they are pointless?

Love our GAs. I was sad to see one of ours go. Our store wouldn't be the same without their creativity.

Total waste of money.

Not pointless at all, every artist is different and its what makes each store unique.

Our artist kicks butt, seriously. One of the most talented people I ever met. It sets the mood for the whole store