Business & Tech

Genuardi's Employees Say They're Being Kept in the Dark

Aside from a need to re-apply for their positions, management has told workers nothing, several said.

A week after the official word came down that by parent company Safeway Inc. to Giant Food Stores, employees at the store say they must re-apply for their positions.

Beyond that, they say they have been told nothing.

Several check-out clerks and employees at the deli and meat counters in Wynnewood say many colleagues are worried about their jobs, and complain that they have been kept in the dark about the impact of the sale—which had been before last week’s announcement. For obvious reasons, none wished to give their name for publication.

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“From a paperwork perspective, you can sort of understand why you would have to re-apply to become part of another company,” said one. “What bothers us is that nobody has told us anything, about anything.”

“We’re in the dark,” said another. “We’re not supposed to even ask about it, or talk about it, but customers ask us everyday. I feel pretty dumb saying ‘I don’t know, they haven’t told us,’ all day long.”

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“The company gets a hundred million bucks. What do we get?"—Wynnewood Genuardi's employee

Wynnewood store manager Jeff Carney on Tuesday confirmed that all workers will have to re-apply for their jobs, but said nothing is definite until the deal is finalized. That process could take 30 to 60 days, said Maryanne Crager, public relations manager for Safeway.

“Nothing is etched in stone yet, because that is a very movable time frame,” she said.

Employees have been told about that aspect of the deal, said Crager, adding that it’s completely reasonable that they are worried about their jobs during a time of transition such as this one.

“The deal is subject to [Federal Trade Commission] regulation, so we’re kind of in a holding pattern until there’s approval,” Crager said. “None of us know how fast that will be. ... We can’t give them hard, fast information because of that.”

Crager referred further questions about timing and employees’ retention to her counterparts at Giant in Maryland.

In announcing the deal on Jan. 5, Safeway stated that upon completion of the sale, employment opportunities with Giant would be made available to Genuardi’s associates, but no other details were included. Clouding the picture for employees is that Safeway plans to close three other Genuardi’s stores (in Exton, Norristown and Royersford), and sell off the remaining eight sites.

“We will be working with the purchasers to ease the transition for our store employees,” said Steve Neibergall, president of Safeway’s Eastern Division, in a statement last week, “and making efforts to facilitate continued employment for as many of them as possible.”

Assuming that includes workers at the closed stores, employees at the Wynnewood location could be competing for jobs with more senior colleagues from other locations.

“The company gets a hundred million bucks,” said one worker in Genuardi’s prepared foods section on Tuesday, referring to the $106 million sale price that Giant is paying Safeway for the 16 regional Genuardi’s locations. “What do we get?”

 

(Editor's note: None of the employees in the attached photographs spoke with Patch regarding this story.)


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