Thread regarding Belk layoffs

Former Belk Store Manager claims she was instructed to harass certain employees

A former belk store manager is claiming she was told by executive leadership that they wanted certain employees gone by using attrition.

The former manager claims that a few months after all employees returned from Covid lockdown, an RVP and group VP had a private meeting with her and first discussed the elimination of employees by using the overworking method or long-haul scheduling method. She claims they had a specific list of employees, the employees pay rate, position, ect…

Overworking method is targeting certain employees for physical labor, or undesired tasks such as janitorial work, or job duties not in their job title.

She claims the long haul scheduling method is used to burn certain employees out quickly, such as closing late night, then opening early the next morning, working all closing shifts, getting paid time off declined for no valid reason, being scheduled outside of normal business hours. Being asked to come in on schedules days off.

the manager says she blatantly refused to do this, and was given an ultimatum to have a certain percentage of new hires by a specific date or receive disciplinary action. After not providing the results, she was given a corrective action marked “final warning”, she was told that if she refused to sign the form she was be immediately terminated and marked as “no rehire”.

Shortly after this this store manager accepted a position with another retailer.

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| 2641 views | | 14 replies (last January 9, 2023) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1k6gxaPT

14 replies (most recent on top)

Belk Crabtree is the worst offender for this type of behavior. They overworked and dogged out their cosmetics team members who were brought back after the COVID pandemic. And a good majority out their counter/ business managers quit because of it. Nothing was ever good enough. And the team was completely burned out by Store Management and leadership.

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Post ID: @vcqj+1k6gxaPT

They are radio silent because they don't want to attract attention to themselves because they are doing illegal things. Probably big time fraud.

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Post ID: @9scf+1k6gxaPT

Belk is not making progress after covid because they were in big trouble before covid. Chapter 11 was just a bandaid. Word is that when they filed they didn't even have enough money to make payroll. They are getting more and more desparate with each passing month. You are so right, the stores do look terrible. And Sycamore has plenty of capitol but they never planned to turn belk around. They get what they can out of it, then they dump it. All the while staying radio silent about everything.

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Post ID: @9yyv+1k6gxaPT

Hello,

I am a current manager was shown this websight by a coworker and have spent several hours just reading these posts. It is a sounding board for anything and everything that is wrong with belk and Belk’s leadership team.

I must add my two cents here. Most retailers were in a bad financial spot after Covid. However, most bounced back, stores are getting back to normal, not that they don’t have a long way to go, but they are making progress.

The scary part about Belk is, simply, it’s not making any progress.Stores are exactly the same as they were after Covid. now it’s been over 2 years and we have not seen any improvements, none whatsoever.

the biggest shock is that (aside for a monthly or bi months two hour visit from an RVP) NO and I mean NO leadership (above the RVP) visits our store.

Accountability is completely gone at Belk, stores managers are doing anything and everything and there is no disciplinary action taken.

HR at belk does not exist anymore. The HR business partner is about as disconnected from the employees as Don Hendricks is. It’s frightening with all that is happening from favoritism to managers hiring their own relatives.

If you are working for Belk have you also noticed that micromanaging is happening more than ever? Yet, stores still look like a thrift shop.

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Post ID: @8mue+1k6gxaPT

It’s called churn and burn employees
It’s a way desperate and/or greedy companies keep from giving raises

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Post ID: @3grw+1k6gxaPT

Whenever you have a meeting with a RVP, group vp, or HR director and they pull out a list of employee pay rates and start going down the list one by one….You are getting ready to see mass layoffs or the company is in serious trouble. If this is happening at any company, not just Belk, it’s time to dust off the resume and start job hunting.

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Post ID: @2gwo+1k6gxaPT

Ex- Store Manager here

Belk wants 18-25 year olds with no benefits, low pay,part time, open availability, on call, willing to do the jobs of three people, and unaware of Belk’s bleak financial situation. Again, that’s what they WANT, but that’s not what they are GETTING. So I assume they are devising new plans, that’s all I can assume.

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Post ID: @2pko+1k6gxaPT

This is 100% true. 0458 Crabtree same thing is happening.

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Post ID: @1syf+1k6gxaPT

Any company that sinks this low must be in very serious trouble, more serious than we can fathom.

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Post ID: @1mqk+1k6gxaPT

Belk company and all your top executives, RVPs, unethical Belk Store Managers and nasty Human Resources Managers can go stick it where the sun won’t shine! What a pathetic Belk retail Flee Market Dollar General Stores!

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Post ID: @qch+1k6gxaPT

If you feel you are being targeted, you must keep detailed notes of everything that happens to you (dates, times, names,) and also don’t be afraid to record a manager or supervisor with your cell phone if they are harassing you with excessive work, tasks, micromanagement, nitpicking, unjustified reprimands. Especially if you are part of a protected class. This will be very useful if they try to terminate you.

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Post ID: @oee+1k6gxaPT

That is being done to me and other associates in my store. But they are running off all the good people and they are left with the horrible ones .

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Post ID: @tjo+1k6gxaPT

This backfired on them.
More employees quit than they could hire
Stores were understaffed
Then executive leadership started leaving the company at an epic rate

What goes around comes around

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Post ID: @cow+1k6gxaPT

Belks business practices reflect what it has become. One of the sleaziest companies in retail.

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Post ID: @vyg+1k6gxaPT

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