I am a news reporter in Charlotte NC with Time Warner Cable News & I'm working on a Lowes layoff story today. Would anyone be willing to call me and tell me what they know and what they're hearing at their stores? I understand the announcement will be made this afternoon.... 980-257-1128. Thank you! Call text or whatever as soon as you can.
6 hours ago by Alex Peterson | Post ID: @LoXaRrN-djo
Yes this is a sad time for Lowes as a company , I truly believed this to be a company I would retire with . And yes we all know those people who you are thinking (how do they keep a job with their bad attitude and rude manner) and yet they are still in place and still roaming the floor's. I myself have always given as much as I can. I help other's I encourage them to succeed, etc. , etc. That's why this is all a bitter pill, and it does make you wonder who's next. Will we see Niblock ruin the rest of Lowe's. Because the programs they have running it are well inefficient to say the least about them. The web site's a joke (perhaps they should spend million's and get someone to create better programs, and eliminate Connection's while they are at it) I still hope that my fellow associates do well either at Lowe's or where ever they choose to work. And as for my pay being a bit more than some associates' it's not much more and I have earned every penny I have gotten over the year's I've been with this company. Hoping they see the light and replace the idiot's burning the village!
It is not just the store associates that are abused by corporate. The vendors and installers are also beat up pretty bad. To start they lower industry rates so that they are the cheapest in town taking away work from the tradesmen in the area as contractors. They take 40% off the top (So if they sell an install for $100 - they keep $40 and the actual person doing the work gets $60) They hire handymen to do licensed trade work cheap. They require their own insurance. As benefits they promise access to health care and 48 hour turn around on pay - but this never happens. They give away product and labor constantly and everyone knows that they will accept anything as a return. The installers have not had a raise in over 8 years and actually have had two decreases as well as trip charges and return fees deleted and expected at no charge. Because in order to stay competitive they have to keep decreasing the install costs driving more and more business away from the local trades.
Definition of too big - ALL BIG BOX STORES
department managers have the choice of stepping down to csa5 for a year at their rate of pay. They do not get their annual raise the lost their higher bracket of ssei bonus. They have the option to apply for a position called service manager at a 5% pay increase which is way more work. Way more responsibility and they don't get a salary or salary bonus. They may not have laid them off but this is still horrible.
From what xxxx had been reading on internet almost everyone. Seems like a lot of admins are also in the cut. Xxxxxxxx who is still in corporate told me that 9 vp persons were let go. Also by this week 400-600 more will be let go at corporate. The rumors that were circulating before have be en exactly what happened today. Be real there are more layoffs to come just from the department managers. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.
After almost 30 years with Lowe's I'm let go....just yesterday I had two fellow asms call me at home because they didn't know how to do something. No raises the last two years because I was capped... still I worked 60 hours a week open to close if someone was out sick. No write ups... no coaching.... no future!
Greetings--I'm the poster that mentioned the CFO. It is very plausible, more so realistic, that he retired today because of his promises of the stock prices. I and many others I have talked to and work with, (or have worked with) feel that he was probably given a "golden ticket"--he over promised and under delivered so he has to go, but he'll get a nice severance and have to train his replacement. From an enterprising stand point, I understand this, but as a whole, given policies that are just ridiculous, poor trickled down corporate decisions and the company as a whole being led by Niblock, who once was in charge of K-Mart, it is woefully and understandably so that as a result of poor leadership, the fat that gets trimmed is exactly the collective middle Doehave had every aspiration to get a "blue vest" but now, I am grateful that my climb has been hindered by poor HR and SM decisions.
It's just a shame that it's easy to dismiss 1% of the work force, 2400 hard workers and more, because of some one else that made a big promise they couldn't deliver themselves. It was a promise on the backs of those 2400+ that invested their livelihood into those jobs. Of course, there are bad apples and fittingly so, that IS the fat that needs trimming, but it stems also towards complacent and ineffective people in positions that cultivate and grow these apples. Again, to all the posters here that have had to face the worst of today, I pray blessings, prosperity, peace and growth for you and yours.
To the person who mentioned it was the CFO's fault, he "retired" today. He is being replaced March 1
Has anyone heard when the contact center employees will know if they are laid off?
I work in the Whiteville, NC location--store 2869. Today, we allegedly lost one of our most valuable Assistant Store Managers--while it's not "official" all signs point to it, as he was not here today for the ASM meeting. The Department Managers were later called in to the meeting today, to where the Store Manager gave a brief preface that he was told by corporate to read this piece of paper explaining that the Department Manager position was being dissolved, that if the DM's chose to continue working with Lowe's that they must opt in for a chance at a service manager position, to which only five would be hired on as. From there they would have one year if they did not land the service manager position to find another position in our store, lest they lose their job at the end of the year. This was also the case for our OPE specialist as his job has faced the same dissolution. The meeting was very concise, and not a single department manager was allowed to ask a question, as the Store Manager said he would not be taking questions, nor answering them.
Overwhelmingly, the morale of the store shifted dramatically after the meeting and it was just miserable to be in the store today. This was all because of a promise that the CFO could not keep to stockholders--and even with this re-structuring the majority of us doubt that there will be a meteoric rise in stock price because of these measures. Our little store has seen a generous up-tick in business since Hurricane Matthew, which is the basis of us having a near unheard of $25 million dollar year in business, whereas our store typically hovers in the low $20 million(s) in yearly revenue.
It is disappointing to hear all the stories of the department managers I have spoken with today, regarding their climb to the position, the amount of time invested and hard work to climb this ladder. Granted, there are some that need this wake up call, that are not a good return of investment for the company's dollar, but there are many who make our store great. For the first time, I am truly disappointed with this company, and question my own integrity for staying and trying to climb the ladder. This is eliminating the dream of advancement, and replacing it with a culture of fear--fear that your job is always at stake now, This is ultimately proving that now more than ever, you are just a number in this store, and in any Lowe's store--no matter how much you've contributed or improved your particular department or area.
The one thing, that I've collectively gathered from talking to my fellow associates is the pretense that perhaps we will finally be rid of a very ineffective HR Manager, who tends to play favorites and doesn't aid in the process of advancing associates who truly deserve it. This also leads us to the hope that our very crude and poorly performing Store Manager will be gone soon as well. We've learned that our store is a sort of two year training ground for Store Managers, and hopefully soon, his time here will be up, and we can move forward with more sincere, involved and effective leadership.
Luckily, I am not a department manager, but now, talking among the other sales specialists in my store, we now fear that we are next on the chopping block--that the department managers who have lost their title may resort to any means necessary to come after our positions, being they are the next pay grade down. We also fear that in this new culture that corporate is manufacturing that the role of sales specialist may be dumbed down to something any floor associate could do, or is expected to do. This is a potentially poor decision that not every one is suited for or able to do--to properly serve our customers, something that is instilled and trained into us upon hiring or promotion as a sales specialist.
I do not relish the fact that I'm going to have to train a bevy of newly hired part timers in the next year and more, nor do I enjoy the fact that I am going to lose so many talented and amazing people to make room for them.
Lowe's has a motto--"Never stop improving." I really don't see this as living up to that motto, nor establishing an environment for the employee where they want to improve them self. Why try to advance in the company when it can all be taken away?
I wish nothing but the best for all the one's that have been let go or put in a impossibly difficult place today. My sympathies and prayers to you all.
Heard CEO, Robert Niblock got a 54% raise... Others high up the chain got VERY significant raises as well... Even FAR better than his 54%. Very disconcerting to those of us whose dear friends were let go or given a year to find another job... Some of these associates had been with the location since it opened its doors 16 years ago!!!
All changes with service manager assignments and demotion of Department Managers take place effective TOMORROW 1/18/17 and will be implemented at the store by the Management Team.
1) 10 AM meeting store's ASM's who were keeping a job with Lowe's called into meeting with SM and HRM and told your job is safe and we are Reassigning your key responsibilities at/in your position.
2) 11 AM meeting with the ASM or ASM's who were being LAID OFF and he/she was given termination letter from Lowe's attorney.
3) 230 PM meeting with Salesfloor DEPARTMENT MGRS (approx 12 or 13 per store) with bad news.......position is being eliminated Excepting Product Service Dept Mgr, Loss Prevention and Safety Dept Mgr and Installed Sales Dept. Mgr.........these associates will be hand selected for 6 positions in the store which is to be called "Service Manager".......with keys and alarm codes for opening/closing store.
4) 330 PM meeting to confirm with Loss Prevention, Product Service and Installed Sales that these DEPT MGR positions will remain (for now)
5) 430 PM meeting with the "Outdoor Power Equipment Specialist" to eliminate this position, reassigned to a CSA 5 position.
@Alex - just read what we have to say here - there literally 1000s of posts in last 24 hours here on layoffs dot com
Heard a lot in corporate also. Trim the fat. Got to love the executives up top..
It's not just the Lowe's stores I and other assistant operations managers at distribution centers have also lost our jobs