HRM/310
Reasons for Change
Lowes is one of several organizations well known as a home store which, draws customers that’s homeowners interested in do it yourself home projects or contractors. According to research Lowes has employed over 238,000 people, with the economy taking a turn for the worst Lowes was also affected. Which caused them to lay off over 1,700 employees in 2010. Many were in manager positions that had been with the company for years and was hired during a time when business was booming.
Lowes decided by laying off full time higher paid employees that it would benefit the organization as a whole by replacing them with part time employees. Lowes intended on hiring 8,000 to 10,000 part time sales associates between the 1,725 stores statewide. These workers would be paid less due to their positions being entry level for instance sales associates that would be paid a lot less. Part time employees would not be entitled to any benefits such as: health insurance, 401k, retirement, and etc. Although, most Lowes would possibly lose one manager position the store would be given 4-8 part time workers to compensate for the loss. The manager that lost their jobs would be compensated by receiving severance pay and assistance with job placement. Those workers that wasn’t laid off witness how some employees received pay cuts depending on their position. One of Lowes competitor is Home Depot which was placed in and unfortunate situation that led them to laying off many employees. This lead to them letting go full time employees and replacing them with part time associates that was paid less. As a result Home Depot received a lot of back lash due to this decision. Lowes was advised to pay close attention to how their customers react to the many changes. Because, the changes made within the organization will affect employees and customers.
Lowes took a chance on downsizing and reconstructing which had a 46% success rate
References: Leban, B., & Stone, R. (2008). Managing Organizational Change. : John Wiley & Sons Inc. Portillo, E. (2011). Lowe’s layoff cut back on middle managers. Retrieved from http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/26/2012541/lowes- layoffs-cut-back-on-middle.html