Home Depot eliminates store-level HR personnel; approx 2000 positions cut

[jmowreader]

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/03/31/daily48.html

I went to the store this morning to pick up a paycheck. "Did you hear? Roger got fired last week."

The Home Depot changed their HR system. Up until...well, last week...every store had its own HR manager, who did what HR managers everywhere do. On May 1, they're going to regional HR offices. The purported reason is to put more "customer-facing hours" on the salesfloor, but they've done things like this before and I never saw an increase in associates. (Or, as they have come to put it, "aprons on the floor." Yup, they don't have employees or associates any more, they have Aprons. Last I checked, an apron is a garment, not a human being.)

What to do with the excess HR generalists? You'll love this: they fired them via conference call.

I need some more wood for my new aquarium stand. I think I'll use some of the money Home Depot paid me to get it at Lowe's.

[Crazy Dave]

1. A conference call?

What's next for America's workers? Getting a text message half way to work telling them to turn around and go back home because they were just terminated?

[marions ghost]

2. One thing I saw this week that

was disturbing was in a big box store I won't name here, but a big chain. The employees were being paged by a manager to do their hourly check-ins, where apparently they punch the clock every hour. I thought of a bunch of bugs in a jar being poked periodically.

In Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed" --she tells her experiences about working in a Walmart. Talk about a dehumanizing work environment.

[slampoet]

3. The working man's revenge has begun.

human resources has gotten downsized. Aprons still here.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. I was in a Home Depot last night. Awful experience .......

There's never any help on the floor. I needed four boards to finish out a stairway I am trimming at a job site. I needed two clear 2x6x6 and two clear 2x8x6. They will be seen, so appearance matters a great deal. These boards used to cost a few bucks each. Now they're fifteen bucks each ..... more than what oak used to be!

But the shit that was in the bin wasn't fit for firewood. Some was sappy. Some had knots. Some had bark. Some was checked. Some was cupped. None was even Number 2, let alone Select.

I spent maybe 20 minutes going through every board in the place. I moved them from the bin to the floor and to other bins. I probably handled in excess of 100 boards. I found four that would do the job for me. When I was done, all those boards had to be put back in their proper bins. I figure that will save a job for someone tomorrow.

But the amazing thing is, in that entire time, I saw not one 'apron'. Not one.

There was one cashier on duty.

Unfuckingbelievable.

[BryMan]

10. Never fear

After the reports today that 51k construction jobs were cut last month good lumber will make a comeback. The over building craze has come to an end and the quality of lumber that suffered during the mass construction of McMansions might see a reversal soon.

[ruiner4u]

11. LOL...

awesome reply...:)

[AlertLurker]

5. I refuse to shop at Home Despot.

Also Wal-Mart and a couple of others.

Every Home Despot or Wal-Fart that opens closes MULTIPLES of other businesses.

Near where I live, they built a huge Wal-Mart. The town's ONLY mall (30+ stores) is now closing.

[Gold Metal Flake]

6. Who needs HR? It's a worthless profit leak.

It's simple. Want money? Get to work. Don't like it? Get a job somewhere else.






















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:sarcasm:

[Pale Blue Dot]

7. Retail is cutting jobs and hours like crazy.

I was a General manager fro a major offfice supply company for seven years, and I can tell you, based on my discussion with friends I still have in the business, that things are very, very bad. Consumers aren't spending any money, and most retailers have already found nearly every possible way to squeeze extra profits for a sale. The only thing left to cut is jobs.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. When I was in the mainstream working world there were no Human Resources. That

became into vogue a few years later. I could never understand the need for a position that was originally handled by office managers.

[Akoto]

9. My brother worked at HD for a while. Absolutely hated it.

The company, at least at his branch, treats its employees like crap.

[ruiner4u]

12. Wait for em to get rid of ASM's next...

That is if your in a smaller volume store..

They got rid of the IMA's by making the DH's order.. And they keep adding responsibilities to the DH's that should be done by salaried managers...


Just wait for them to be cut next...And remember SHRM is on the same level as the store manager..

[jmowreader]

13. We had two DHs that effectively WERE salaried managers

Okay, without the pay or the prestige of being a salaried manager, but ALL of the headaches! They're still there, I'm all gone.

This isn't a "smaller volume" store; plan for 2008 is, IIRC, over $65 million.