Category: British Columbia

Working together to secure our future is important

Posted on by Varinder Singh

We wanted to reach out to you directly, because UFCW 1518 has been distributing inaccurate information about what’s happening in Safeway stores. The Union has distributed pamphlets at our stores attacking the company, incorrectly stating that Sobeys has commenced an illegal lock-out by announcing the closure of 10 Safeway locations.

It’s important to set the record straight. We have not commenced a lock-out.

The store closures were announced because those stores were facing financial difficulty. Employees are not being “locked-out”. We can only continue to strengthen our stores if we work together.

Making tough decisions for a stronger Safeway: Our industry is facing major changes and we have the responsibility to make difficult decisions that will move us forward and create a strong future in the province.

Pushing customers away won’t solve our issues: The union has been handing out pamphlets at Safeway stores that attack the quality of our stores. This action will only serve to push customers away, and that is bad for jobs, bad for job security, and bad for the long-term future of Safeway.

Working together, we have addressed many challenges: We did face challenges during the recent ownership turnover, as every member of our team knows. Every member of our team, in and out of our bargaining units, worked hard to address those challenges. We can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done as part of this process.

Customers are demanding discount options: The tough decisions we’ve made will help us get to a more secure position to grow our business. Expanding our Discount format FreshCo stores will give our customers in British Columbia an option for a simpler, value-based shopping experience without going to a competitor. It’s an option we know they want and we want to provide.

Our customers are changing and we have to adapt. The fact is we must keep up with what our customers want if we’re going to return our business to solid ground so we can continue providing good, stable jobs for our valued Safeway staff.

Keep coming back to safewaytalks.ca for updates.

B.C. Store Closures, Potential FreshCo openings

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Today, Sobeys Inc. announced the permanent closure of 10 underperforming Safeway stores in British Columbia. In addition to these closures, we also announced five stores that will be closing, but may reopen as FreshCo locations depending on the outcome of labour negotiations with the relevant B.C. labour unions.

The decision to close stores is never easy. The changes we are experiencing in the marketplace are a direct result of changing customer preferences. The reality is some of our locations continue to lose money despite the best efforts of both the hardworking teams in our stores and in the Company.

It’s no secret that many of our stores in British Columbia have struggled in recent years. It’s important that we take the right steps forward to ensure a strong future for Safeway. We must return our stores to profitable growth and have the flexibility to react quickly to market demands.

As always, we will work with impacted employees to provide support as they transition to work in other stores or onto new career opportunities. We will also be working closely with their respective unions to ensure the terms of their collective agreements are met.

Our operating costs are some of the highest in the industry, and we have to get our labour costs in line to remain competitive. If we don’t reduce our operating costs, more stores will need to be closed.

These tough decisions will help us move to a more secure position to grow our business and provide good, stable jobs for British Columbians and the more than 125,000 Canadians we employ across the country.

The stores that are closing are:

  • # 4944 Safeway Lougheed Mall, Burnaby
  • # 4907 Safeway City Square, Vancouver
  • # 4904 Safeway Sunwood Square, Coquitlam
  • # 4945 Safeway Point Grey, Vancouver
  • # 4954 Safeway Royal Oak, Burnaby

Store that are closing but may reopen as FreshCo locations are:

  • # 4949 Safeway Blundell, Richmond
  • # 4957 Safeway Broadmoor, Richmond
  • # 4964 Safeway Newton Town Centre, Surrey
  • # 4935 Safeway Strawberry Hills, Surrey
  • # 4951 Safeway Mission

The pharmacies in these locations will remain open through the negotiations and potential renovations. The intention is to have the pharmacies in the new FreshCo locations.

We believe we can return Safeway to its place at the centre of Western Canadian communities with strong and successful stores. But we must work together to move forward.

We’ll continue to keep you informed in your stores and on SafewayTalks.ca

An update on UFCW 832 negotiations

Posted on by Varinder Singh

An update on UFCW 832 negotiations

This week, we sat down to begin negotiations with UFCW 832 in Manitoba.

Sobeys is at the table to get an agreement, and we will stay there and work hard to get one.

We want to be clear and transparent with you – we did not walk away from the table.

After the union set out their proposal, it was clear that there were significant differences in our positions. We said we had to carefully review the proposal and make some decisions on the path forward. Together, Sobeys and UFCW 832 decided to adjourn for the week. We’ve agreed to meet again on January 29 for negotiations and want you to know that we’re committed to continue working on and reaching an agreement.

We’re focused on negotiating an agreement that helps preserve the future of our stores in Manitoba and as many jobs as possible.

The grocery industry is competitive and it’s only getting tougher. Many of our Safeway stores continue to lose money and are not sustainable. Our operating costs are still some of the highest in the industry. It’s vital that we get our labour costs in line so we can continue to be competitively priced in the market while providing  good, stable jobs and secure a strong future for Safeway.

Keeping you informed is important to us and we’ll continue to share updates in your stores and on SafewayTalks.ca

An important message for all British Columbia Safeway employees on the FreshCo announcement

Posted on by Varinder Singh

There has been a lot of news to digest in recent weeks. We want to ensure you have the most up-to-date information as we all work together to strengthen our Safeway stores and reconnect with our customers.

We’d like to address four important areas to help provide clarity around this news and other important issues to date:

  • Project Sunrise
  • Our continued commitment to full-service format stores
  • The strong case for expanding our Discount format in Western Canada
  • Set the record straight on the current status of bargaining and other issues

Project Sunrise

As you know, the grocery industry is extremely competitive and these effects are being felt across all banners, at all levels of the Company.

To address these challenges we launched Project Sunrise, a major transformation initiative to win back our customers and strengthen our stores. The first phase of Project Sunrise – reorganizing our office teams to operate as one national, functionally-led organization – is now complete. Through this process we have created a simpler office structure to operate more efficiently and better serve our stores and customers.

The second phase of Project Sunrise, to unlock our scale, is well underway. As part of this phase, we announced our significant plan to expand our Discount banner, FreshCo, into Western Canada.

Our continued commitment to full-service format stores

We have no intention to remove our full-service format. We remain committed to our full-service stores — they are the backbone of our business. In fact, even through the Discount roll-out in Western provinces, the vast majority of our stores in Western Canada will continue to operate as full-service format stores.

Unfortunately, many of our full-service stores are not competitive at this time. We need to implement changes in our full-service offering to be in a better position to serve our customers’ needs. We need to get our costs down and increase our flexibility to compete.

Our customers’ tastes are changing and we need to change with them to remain competitive. Customers are telling us that they want options through our conventional full-service stores and a Discount offering. This is the best way to grow our overall business and win back our customers.

Through the first phase of Project Sunrise, we have structured our office teams to ensure that support for full-service retail operations is strong and not distracted by our Discount roll-out in Western Canada. A dedicated team will be responsible for managing the Discount roll-out.

The strong case for expanding our Discount format in Western Canada

The expansion of FreshCo in Western Canada comes as a direct result of customer demand. We’ve conducted detailed customer and market studies and found that there is strong opportunity for Discount in Western Canada.

Today, Discount grocery is the fastest growing bricks and mortar segment of the grocery market.

Eighty-seven per cent of Sobeys Inc. stores across the country operate in a conventional grocery format, whereas Discount stores, like FreshCo, now make up nearly 44 per cent of the Canadian food retail market.

In short, customers are shifting heavily to Discount grocery shopping. In order to keep our stores open and provide good, stable jobs for our employees, we must be in a position to meet this clear customer demand.

Our goal is to build more stable stores, stores that create good jobs and opportunities for our people.

Update on the status of bargaining and other issues

Change of this magnitude is not easy on our team and we know you have questions. We want to ensure you to have the all facts to make clear decisions. Recently, there has been misinformation circulating about Company announcements and the status of bargaining.

In the interest of being clear and transparent, here are the details of the Company’s position:

  • The Company has tried on a number of occasions to engage the Union by asking UFCW 1518 to set bargaining dates for the reopener negotiations. The Union has not agreed to do so, arguing they will not agree to dates until they receive extensive financial information. Our position has been clear: the Company will provide and discuss relevant financial information when the parties meet to negotiate. As a result of this impasse, the Company has had to take the unprecedented step of going to British Columbia’s Labour Relations Board for assistance in setting dates for bargaining.
  • For almost six months, the Company has tried to engage with the Union in the Quarterly Review process to discuss the status of 19 underperforming stores in B.C. Unfortunately, these attempts have been unsuccessful as the union would not engage in the process. The Quarterly Review process is set out in the Collective Agreement, and the Union has not recognized this responsibility. As part of the Quarterly Review process, the Union would have received financial disclosure on the 19 stores in question months ago.
  • It has been well known in the industry that the Company was contemplating expanding our Discount format. In the UFCW’s own letter to the membership, it noted that Michael Medline, President and CEO, Empire Inc., stated publicly months ago that the FreshCo expansion was being considered. Despite this, the Union has indicated that it was “blindsided” by news of the FreshCo expansion.
  • Over the course of the last year, the Company has met with UFCW 1518 leadership on an ongoing basis, having many frank discussions about the state of the Company and possibilities for the future, including the possible expansion of a Discount banner like FreshCo. As a result, this latest announcement should come as no surprise to UFCW 1518.
  • The Company was not in a position to provide UFCW 1518 with firm details on the FreshCo expansion decision until the decision was reported publicly. The FreshCo expansion is a material announcement and we are a public company. As such, securities regulations would not allow us to discuss this internally without informing the market first. The Union is aware of this rule. It is our goal to be as transparent as possible with UFCW 1518 and you, our employees.

Working together for a successful future

We all share a vested interest in growing our business together. We are striving to return to profitability – profitability that will serve both the Company and our employees’ best interests.

We need to work together to build a stronger Safeway.

Over the past year, the Company has made tough decisions and changes to focus on winning back our customers and strengthening our stores. We need to move quickly to respond to customer demands in order to be successful. An important part of this process is having the necessary conversations with employees and unions to discuss moving forward with these plans.

The only way to move forward together is to get to the bargaining table and start the important work of building a stronger future together.

If you have any further questions about this information, we encourage you to submit them on safewaytalks.ca. We are committed to continue communicating with you as more information is made available and will connect again soon.

Financial Update For Employees

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Safeway employees,

Last week, our CEO Michael Medline announced this year’s first quarter financial results for Empire Company Limited, the company that owns Sobeys and Safeway.

While the results are positive, there is much more work that we need to do. The grocery industry is tough, competition is growing and we aren’t even close to where we need to be in the Safeway brand if we are to be successful.

On the business side, we’re focused on Project Sunrise. This is about cutting costs and realigning our business so we can put ourselves in a leadership position once again. To put it simply, this is about making sure our back-stage structures and staff are better organized and equipped to support our stores, making it simpler for us to do business and easier for you to do your jobs. We still have a long way to go and we know change isn’t easy, but we will see it through.

For Safeway, this means we must continue to tackle our challenges. Even with the changes we’re making through Project Sunrise, we still face some of the highest costs in the industry. This must change!

We want Safeway to regain its place as one of the top grocery stores in Western Canada. We want customers to think of Safeway first when they choose where to shop. In order to do this, we must get our costs under control.

Project Sunrise is one piece of this puzzle, as we continue working at store level to improve our bottom line, all with the goal of building a successful Safeway with good stable jobs for the future.

Thanks for your hard work and dedication. Only by working together can we make Safeway a leader again.

 

Jason Potter

Executive Vice President, Operations

Update on B.C. Quarterly Review Process

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Safeway’s on your side

As the backbone of our operations in British Columbia we wanted to update you on the status of our quarterly review process.

We believe the UFCW locals have a right to their views. But here is how we see it, as people dedicated to the future of this company.

To ensure a strong, viable company that can continue to provide thousands of stable jobs, we need to be competitive. That means we need to be the place our customers want to shop at, at a level of cost that allows us to operate.

And that’s why we’re looking at all our costs, at every level and in every detail of the company.

Wisely, our collective agreement provides for exactly this kind of review, when it is needed to keep this company operating. Delay will just make change more difficult and costly for everyone. We must tackle our challenges and we must do it now.

Here is what is happening:

Safeway is a proud Western Canadian brand, and we are proud of our employees

  • Sobeys has operated for more than 110 years in the grocery business with many of our stores in western Canada including British Columbia
  • We are in our stores every day, we know our markets and our customers and we continue to listen, learn and act

Yes, we have made some mistakes but we are taking action, including:

  • Investments in lower prices to better compete;
  • Work to update our product offerings to better reflect customer needs;
  • Updates to our Planograms and have better communication about stock to stores;
  • Continue to invest in remodels and renovations to attract more customers

Our operating and specifically our labour costs are a serious issue, and they’re putting stores at risk.

  • Safeway is not immune to the economic realities we are all facing in the West
  • We are facing tough competition especially from discounters and big-box stores that are driven by price and low costs
  • We are taking actions to lower costs across our operations, including reducing our back office costs by over $500 million, but we must tackle our labour costs in our stores and we must do it now

We have to act quickly and work together to build a strong Safeway if we are to continue to provide good, sustainable jobs in the future.

  • We all want to return Safeway to its place as one of the best grocery stores in Western Canada and we are all working hard to make this happen
  • We ask you to urge the union to work with us to tackle these challenges
  • Only by working together can we build a strong future for everyone who works here

SPEAK UP. MAKE SAFEWAY STRONG AND STABLE

FAQ Update: B.C. Quarterly Review Process

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Which stores were placed under Quarterly Review?

UFCW Locals 1518 and 247 were notified on June 12, 2017, that we are triggering the Quarterly Review process for the following 20 stores:

  • #121 Lougheed Mall Burnaby
  • #92 Strawberry Hills Surrey
  • #1 Surrey Central
  • #184 Newton Town Centre Surrey
  • #62 Fleetwood Surrey
  • #161 Broadmoor Richmond
  • #20 Sunwood Square Coquitlam
  • #70 Trail
  • #84 Collingwood Vancouver
  • #90 English Bay Vancouver
  • #33 City Square Vancouver
  • #138 Blundell Richmond
  • #89 Sahali Kamloops
  • #14 Sunshine Hills Delta
  • #7 Dilworth Kelowna
  • #75 100 Mile House
  • #2 West Broadway Vancouver
  • #36 Robson Vancouver
  • #179 Trenant Park Ladner
  • #182 Powell River

We’ve since announced that we will be closing #90 English Bay in Vancouver to make way for the redevelopment of the property. We do not own this property, and due to the landlord’s revised redevelopment timelines, we’ve removed this store from the Quarterly Review Process as it will be closing on August 31, 2017.

How many of the 19 stores do you already have in mind to close?

Our goal is to have stores where people want to shop. That is how we’ll renew Safeway. It is the only road to stable jobs for thousands of people.

To get there – as Safeway people know well – we need to make these stores viable. That’s what this process aims to do. These stores can’t keep operating at a loss.

We do not want to have to close stores. But to keep them open, we need to lower our costs and increase our sales in our non-profitable stores.

Will any stores under Quarterly Review be re-bannered?

The Safeway banner has a long history in western Canada. Our ultimate goal is to transform our business, better serve our customers, engage our employees and move from defence to offence in the market.

We do not currently have any specific plans to alter or change this banner in any stores under Quarterly Review.

When does this process start? When does the 180-day countdown begin?

The 180-day timeline runs from the beginning of the Quarterly Review process until the presentation to the arbitrator.  Safeway triggered the Quarterly Review process on June 12, 2017.  No meeting dates have been set.

How come some of our competitors (e.g. Ferrero Foods in Rossland, BC) are selling our Compliments items for less than we are? Why are we supplying them our product line?

The grocery business is competitive, and the economic pressures in the west have added even more pressure to our business. This means to stay viable as a company, we need to grow revenues.

Wholesaling allows us to sell our products, including our private label brands, from our warehouses to smaller independent grocers like Ferrero Foods, and generate revenues from outside of our own stores.

Our wholesale business has been a significant part of our company for decades, and will continue to be an important way for us to offset operating costs at our warehouses, grow our brand, our business and our customer base and keep people employed with strong, stable jobs.

If there are no concessions made, and the store under review closes, will employees be given the opportunity to transfer?

Safeway will respect the rules set out in our collective agreements.

Our employees are the backbone of our business, without you we couldn’t keep the customers coming back. No matter the outcome of the Quarterly Review process in each store, we will honour the obligations in respect to transfers set out in our Collective Agreements.

My store was already under Quarterly Review. Why is it part of this process again?

We are still not achieving the results we want at some stores that had been previously been under Quarterly Review so we’ve decided to have another look at those stores. The original Quarterly Review decisions remain in place, but we are seeking further adjustments to improve the viability of those stores through this process.

If someone is on disability and a store closes, what will happen to them?

We want to be clear, we do not want to close stores. But even with the actions the Company is taking through Project Sunrise to cut costs and simplify the way we do business, we still face the highest costs in the industry.

However, if a store closes, we would work to address the situation of employees who are impacted by the closure. This will include those on disability and their specific circumstances. In all such situations, our intent will be to always do what is required in accordance with our legal obligations and our collective agreements.

B.C. Wildfires: How We’re Helping

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Since the fires began to escalate on July 6, we’ve been working closely with our community partners, the Canadian Red Cross, and local emergency response teams to provide emergency supplies to those affected.

On July 11, we launched an in-store campaign in the province of BC, where customers can make a donation towards the Red Cross at their local Safeway or Thrifty Foods store. One hundred per cent of donations will support relief efforts.

Sobeys Inc. will match customer donations made in-store throughout BC up to a maximum of $25,000. In addition, Sobeys has provided more than $7,000 in provisions to date such as food, meals and water.

Thank you to our incredible employees and generous customers.  Together we can help provide further support to our neighbours impacted by the approximately 250 fires raging in BC.

If you would like to make a donation and you are outside BC please visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.ca

Update for Employees Affected by B.C. Wildfires

Posted on by Varinder Singh

We’re thankful all employees from our 100 Mile House store and their families were evacuated safely and we are aware the Williams Lake employees are currently on standby for possible evacuation. We recognize this is an extremely difficult and challenging time filled with uncertainty. We are here to help support you.

Time lines for residents and businesses to return to their communities are still being determined. It remains unclear when our store will reopen and our employees will be able to return to work.

We continue to closely monitor the situation and are working with the BC government to ensure we have the latest information.

We’re committed to keeping impacted employees up-to-date as the situation unfolds as it relates to return to work timelines, employee support and relief efforts. Employees can:

Financial Update for Employees

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Safeway employees,

Earlier this week our CEO Michael Medline announced quarterly results for Empire Company, the company that owns Sobeys and Safeway.

These results are important not only to our shareholders, but also to you, our employees. Ultimately you, are a big part of tackling our challenges and securing our future. These results are a measure of how we are all doing. The numbers Michael announced this week told us we are on the right track. But they also confirmed there is much more to be done.

As Michael said, “we are not where we want to be and we are most certainly not out of the woods yet. Although we are doing a better job of managing our day-to-day business, we remain in the nascent stages of delivering significant cost savings while addressing a number of brand and customer offering opportunities that will provide a compelling reason for consumers to shop us more.”

What does this mean for Safeway? It means we are at the very early stages of getting back to being the place where customers want to shop. That is how we will build a strong and growing company, with stable jobs for our people. To be able to do that, we have to do many things at Safeway — including getting a handle on costs which, right now, are among the highest in this crowded and brutally competitive industry. We have to address this issue since doing nothing won’t make our challenge go away. Addressing it gives us a path forward.

For more information on the results, you can find the full comments here.

You can also read some of the coverage here.

We’re in this together.

Jason Potter