Morale among Sainsbury store staff has been rocked as the cull of Sainsbury store managers who don't match up to a new specification claimed its first victims. Managers and staff have told The Grocer that some departures have been brutally sudden and that some staff have been upset by the loss of well liked bosses. Others, however, have supported the moves as being in the best interests of the business. As The Grocer exclusively revealed (Jan 12, p5) about 100 managers were identified by head office and told they did not match up to a new specification for the job. The managers get three options ­ one is to go through an assessment, the second is to take redundancy, and the third is to accept demotion. They can accept demotion or redundancy if they fail the assessment. A stand-in manager at one store said: "The manager of our store has already gone, he took redundancy. A lot are taking the redundancy package as it's at least a year's salary and quite good." Another said: "The manager from here felt he was pretty badly treated. The managers aren't allowed back to their stores, they get called in and then they disappear. It's mainly a security thing." One manager said the severance package he had been offered was good, but he was disappointed to be leaving on a sour note. A member of staff said: "Our manager has been selected and it has definitely affected morale. He is a very popular character. "From a business point of view, I can see it's for the best ­ getting forward-looking dynamic people to run the stores. But from a personal note, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth." But a deputy manager said: "This is something that had to be done. It's about improving performance. "It's the nudge that some people needed, either to leave the company or up their game." Another manager said: "I think what Sir Peter Davis has done is absolutely brilliant. I have no fears now about job security. This is a thumbs up for the way I have been doing my job because I have still got it. I have worked for Sainsbury for a long time and it is getting back to the values it had before." Sainsbury released a statement saying: "We regularly review our competencies across the business and the current activity regarding store managers is one of these reviews. "The role of the store manager is of paramount importance to the business, and the success of any store is very much dependent on the manager's capability. "Until this review is complete we are not in a position to comment further." {{NEWS }}

Topics