Teammates,

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we are seeing unprecedented activity in our stores. Grocery stores are truly an “essential service” and it’s clear that families are preparing to stay safe during times of self quarantine.
We know how busy you are in our stores serving our customers and communities and want to thank you for everything you are doing. We are so proud of our team on the front lines, serving Canadians.

We activated our pandemic preparedness plan several weeks ago and continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation. We’re following guidance from federal and provincial agencies, and other health organizations.

Your Retail Support Teams will continue to provide you with updates and changes in policy as the situation evolves. We want to stress that we are not treating this as “business as usual”. All of our retail support teams are all hands-on deck, focused on you during this rapidly changing time.

Here are the steps we’re taking to protect our teammates and our customers:

• We’re asking all employees who are sick to stay home. Please always check-in with your manager before returning to work. Your health and safety is our top priority.
• Our HR team is helping employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 or have travelled to a high-risk country with understanding quarantine protocols.
• We’re asking our store teams to continue their strong in-store cleaning protocols to “clean as you go” and ensure high-touch surfaces are cleaned regularly.
• Our Distribution and Replenishment teams are working hard to ensure stores get the product needed to serve customers. We’re working with our Supplier Partners to ensure inventory continues to be available.
• Like many other retailers, we have suspended all in-store sampling and demo programs until further notice.

Let’s all remember the simple things we can do to keep our workplace healthy like regularly washing our hands, and not coming to work if you are sick. We will continue to work with government and the public health authorities to monitor the situation as it evolves and provide you with regular updates.

We are dealing with a truly unique situation in our stores right now. Your patient, welcoming and calm smiles can go a along way for our customers. After hospitals and pharmacies, grocery stores are the most important service in our communities.

You are a part of a team of 123,000 people across the country who are working hard to support Canadians during this COVID-19 pandemic. We’re incredibly lucky to have you on our team. Thank you for everything you are doing now and for all of your efforts in the coming weeks.

We’re proud to be on your team.

Thank you,

Michael Medline – President & CEO, Empire Co.

Pierre St-Laurent – EVP, Full-Service Empire Co. Sobeys Inc.