At Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, 7,500 managers will be given a new position as a result of a major restructuring of the organization. The functions of team leader and assistant supermarket manager will disappear, the supermarket chain confirms after reporting by the Dutch RTL Nieuws. A spokeswoman for Albert Heijn Belgium informs Belga that the procedure only applies to the Netherlands. Albert Heijn emphasizes that no one will lose their salary, but the Dutch trade union FNV is critical.
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Some of the employees affected by the redeployment can then start working as a manager for ‘fresh’, ‘service’ or the operational part. Others become so-called shift leaders, or those who manage the staff during different shifts. No jobs will be lost as a result of the changes, says Albert Heijn.
Employees who are assigned a lower position as a result of these changes are compensated so that they do not lose their salary. Sonja Boelhouwer, director of stores at Albert Heijn, says that in the current situation this applies to about 50 percent of the 7,500 employees involved. According to Boelhouwer, the rearrangement of functions is not a cost-saving measure, but intended to respond to new customer requirements. “The current model has been around for twelve years. With this change, we will focus more on fresh produce and service. “
FNV director Michiel Al is critical of the compensation scheme. Employees under the age of 50 who receive this allowance will benefit less from future collective labor agreement wage increases than other colleagues. For some of the employees, a possible wage increase of 3 percent would, for example, be half lower. According to Al, employees under the age of 35 are even more disadvantaged. “We believe that everyone should benefit from a pay increase via the collective labor agreement.”
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