I thank you all, friends, for posting your thoughts, feelings & disgust about WF and the layoffs. When my position was eliminated (not!) I felt shock, betrayal, sick to my stomach, humiliated, disbelief, anger, etc. I'm not saying that misery loves company, but i was SO relieved at the many comments describing the way I felt. Friends, thanks for helping me to realize I am not alone in this mess. Never a write up, never late, always going the extra mile. Any praise or thanks from mgmt, was just fake bs that i realize meant nothing. Just because I earn 5-20 cents more per hour than fellow TM's is no reason to lay off! I earned every cent through dedication to my job, team and store. But your comments have kept me going, knowing I'm not alone in this mess. Some of you made me lol & actually feel relief. I want to thank you all and wish you all peace, joy and a better job! The best part is I still have no appetite & lost weight! Thanks for putting into words what I was thinking but couldn't express (like"grow some organic balls")!!!! My friends, i really seriously appreciate reading your vents. I just received my final termination payment & feel like I'm on a lifeboat watching the Titanic sinking. Here's to our new lives beyond WF! Best wishes to all that were laid off, and those still treading water. Stay strong, Friends, you'll never know how many of your honest comments really helped me feel better about myself. Cheers! Stay strong. This, too shall pass. Hugs!
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Thanks OP. This board has been great. We've all been kept in relative isolation with very little cross-regional communication. Now we know that the same types of issues are going on all over the place and have been for some time. Different clowns but the same circus! Anyway, best wishes to you.
Make sure to save some severance money well. Basically the reason I had to look for a job right away and use the package for future eventualities till I figure out something solid. But in the meantime another bi weekly payment is coming in from my new employer and using it to pay bills.
Well, the one thing to come out of these layoffs is people are talking, which is something we really weren't allowed to do. It's been eye opening, just hearing of other regions experiences. I know that TMs still employed are reading these posts, some are labeling those of us laid off as disgruntled. Well, yes. When you've worked for WFM for as long as some of us have - and then be eliminated with virtually no notice? I had 1 hour to clean out my office of 9 years.
I was always skeptical about our Fortune 100 ranking. As an employee you couldn't really say anything. Our computers were monitored. As an ex-employee, you'd be just considered disgruntled and therefore dismissed.
It might just turn out that the repercussions of these initial layoffs will be greater than the Co-CEOs anticipated.
There was a greater value ( Team a Member Happiness and Excellence) in the team members who worked, problem solved, and formed tight store bonds. My store in particular grew by leaps and bounds in shared fate. Now, I hear it's at a real low. The customers will feel it.
Yeah buddy...... ANYWAY, great post. I feel the same. Was so shocked to loose the job they BEGGED me to take. This board has been essential in getting on with my life "buddy"
Live goes on buddy.
Anonymous195005 -The negativity is understandable considering the horrific management that we have all had the displeasure of dealing with. It's good to vent to people who have been in the trenches. Support independent businesses!
Hey all, you really have to see the humor in this.....Whole Foods is now HALF Foods! Now is the time to re-evaluate your life and know that this is a blessing.....go out and do something you always wanted to do but were too tired working in a freezing cold grocery store to live your PASSION. Maybe we will be seeing Christina and Paula on the unemployment line soon! That's if John and Walter have the organic balls to fire them! Keep laughing!
@mj5 - good post. This was cool, thanks for writing it. I feel the same, even though there is a ton of negativity here we kept some sense of community. Hidden behind anon handles, we thrive as one.
Good luck! You're not alone. I still work there unfortunately, and wish that I had gotten the severance. Consider yourself lucky to have gotten out when you did. Reading this board has also made me feel so much better knowing that my experiences with this horrible corporation weren't an isolated experience. There is strength in numbers.