Warehouse Group proposes cutting 190 jobs in Auckland

The Warehouse Group is proposing to cut 190 jobs at its Auckland support offices. Photo / Supplied

The Warehouse Group has confirmed “approximately 190 roles” will be cut across its six retail brands in Auckland in a restructure proposal announced yesterday.

They said these roles are part of their support teams based in Auckland and will not affect retail staff.

The move is a response to “challenging market conditions” forecast for the year ahead, and comes after Stats NZ released inflation figures at their highest in 32 years.

The company released a statement today regarding the restructure:

“Yesterday we shared a proposal with The Warehouse Group team members based at support offices in Auckland, to make some changes to our structure.

It said the proposal would “deliver value” to customers while responding to challenging market conditions.

“Approximately 190 roles may be impacted and we are currently consulting with our teams.”

The Warehouse Group chief executive Nick Grayston. Photo / File

Earlier this week Mediaworks announced plans to cut up to 90 roles across the radio brand.

Staff were told “two-thirds” of MediaWorks’ costs were labour-related.

“And I’m sorry to let you know that we have had to make the difficult decision to review our operating model and reduce our workforce by up to 90 roles,” chief executive Cam Wallace said.

That included what were deemed “a significant number of vacant roles”, to ensure the company was efficient, effective and resilient.

The Warehouse Group’s six brands include retailers the Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, Torpedo7, 1-day and e-commerce site TheMarket.

Earlier this month, the Herald reported that Forsyth Barr had cut the retailer from outperform to neutral, and slashed its 12-month target price from $3.65 to $2.90.

Forsyth Barr analyst Andy Bowley said the impact of Costco was a factor.

“It’s just one factor. The macroeconomic environment is the much larger challenge,” Bowley said.

Bowley and colleague Margaret Bei cited weakening consumer demand, margin pressure and continued higher costs of doing business in a January 5 research note.

“Christmas sales were below our expectations as revenue fell across all brands (from -1 per cent to -12 per cent) for the second quarter period from November 1 to December 26.

“While this is off a strong base, as the comparable prior year period benefitted from post-lockdown pending, the year ahead looks to be increasingly difficult for retailers.”

In a trading update filed to the NZX on the evening of December 29, The Warehouse Group said sales for its busiest quarter were down 5.5 per cent on the year-ago period due to cost-of-living pressures pinching consumers’ wallets.