Makro plans to cut salesforce to 80 in restructure move
Loss-making wholesaler Makro Cash & Carry UK was set to further restructure its UK business and make more staff redundant as The Grocer went to press.
Head office staff were told via an email made available to The Grocer to meet MD Klaus Raettig outside the boardroom at its HQ in Manchester at 9.30am yesterday morning for a briefing on changes to the business. "Please cancel any meetings scheduled for tomorrow and ensure that you're in head office," the email read.
It is understood that the majority of regional sales managers will lose their jobs and that the sales headcount will be cut from 170 to about 80. Regional HR managers will either be asked to leave or take a lower position, and all recently recruited store-level HR managers will be asked to leave, a source said. It is also understood that Makro's four business divisions will be cut to three.
A spokesman said Makro "would not comment on rumour and speculation".
Last week, parent company Metro Group appointed restructuring specialist Juergen Schwartze to start as Makro MD in October. The news came just seven weeks after consultants from AlixPartners, including current MD Raettig, were brought in as all but one of the previous board members departed.
The current management has agreed an 18-month deadline with Metro to turn a profit and the company insists it has no plans to leave the UK.
Makro has racked up losses of more than £100m in the past four years.
Readers' comments (4)
Anon35 | 31 Jul 2011 21:13
Mis-Management at it's worst!
Over 350 people lost their jobs on Friday.
All because the ex board surrounded themselves with people and roles that made no sense.
The funny thing about this is the regional HR and the HRM's kept their jobs except one.
I feel for everyone who lost their jobs on Friday, they were victims of Mr Floto's team of incompetents, who were more bothered about their shopping than a company haemorrhaging sales and customers!
Alix partners need to act fast if they want the customers to come back - streamline the range (which they have been doing) and look at the pricing, but they should take a trip to CostCo during the week, this is where all Makro's customers have gone!
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Slick Rick | 31 Jul 2011 22:26
The poster has got it pretty spot on really.
Why should 350 people pay for the mistakes of the previous board??? I can confidently say that the board members were paid off quite well. For what ??? Losing 100m of Metros money.
Makro needs to get back to basics:-
keep customers happy
No Ques
Promote Online sales
Big push on own brand
Costco is making big in roads into Makros customer base. They almost have the same number of stores now. Makro should be looking at their business model and taking the fight to them. They have the clout of a multi billion pound organisation.
Make the stores more independant from headoffice control, give them automny.
Also why are Metro spending hundreds of thousands of thier money on consultants??? They run a very successful wholesale business around the world. Why can not that be implemented in the UK???
Why hasn't Mr Cordes visited the UK????
I just hope Makro is not being primed for sale. Metro paid over 1 billion pound for the Makro brand.
Metro and the UK board need to tell the workforce what is going on??
Is the business going to be sold?
Anymore job losses?
They will gain a lot more respect just by doing a few simple things.
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dunworking | 01 Aug 2011 12:23
It seems a shame to sack directors that have only been with the company for a short time and give them a substantail severance payment while employees loyal to the company, having worked many years are cast on the waste heap with little to show for their commitment and hard work. Surely these ex employees could be useful in their perspective of where the company was years ago and how to get back to that USP which these foreign owners seem to forget.
I would like to see the company fall flat on it's face for the treatment of long seving employees and congratulate customers for having the good sense to shop somewhere else- good luck no good ridence to a failing company, just feel sorry for the people left, I caanot see how they will keep their jobs for much longer.
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insidemakro | 09 Jan 2012 10:20
And news is this morning that nearly all HR managers are to made redundant. Only 4 to remain. About time as this area is massively over staffed at salaries circa £35k pa !!!!
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