"Year-over-year sales at Lowe's stores, known as comps, were up. But CEO Robert Niblock told analysts Wednesday that recent changes in the way Lowe's staffs its stores held back growth.
“In the second quarter, comp growth was constrained as a result of disruption caused by changes to our store staffing model earlier in the year, which became more apparent with increased traffic,” Niblock said.
In January, the company laid off 2,400 assistant store managers, and replaced them with a smaller number of staff on sales floors. That was supposed to better serve customers seeking help."
What do you know, Niblock admits the new staffing model is a failure. My store hasn't hired a single "customer facing associate" and has further reduced payroll by not replacing some associates that have left.