I want to preface this by saying I am not some one from corporate or some one who is here to spread lies. I am a Lowe's employee at the store level. I have no confirmations or even an inside look at anything happening with restructuring or anything of consequence outside of daily store operations. I do not think that anyone at an hourly level will be effected July 29th.
I do believe however that the changes that were listed on the whole will happen within the next 3 years. I say this not because I think Lowe's is trying to make money through cutting payroll. I say it because the decisions Lowe's makes in the next 5 years will dictate how relevant Lowe's is in the next 50.
What has the company spent money on recently? They are building an internet fulfillment center, centralize appliance warehouses, and we are opening a large amount of Orchard stores. What new programs are they rolling out? Centralized production office and centralized delivery. These mean that customers can buy items and even have them installed without leaving their home. Installers will even be warehousing stock items and have SOS items shipped directly to them.
They are following the buying pattern of the customer. Lowe's is not cutting payroll they are reallocating it. Some one outside of a store associate has to make these things happen. If even 30% or the normal store sales goes through the internet and never touches or is recorded by a store then payroll would also have to be cut by 30%. Even with earned hours your payroll is a percentage of sales. It is either execute a plan now and be able to give 12 months of the same pay to associates that deserve it or be forced to cut them without it.
This year SSPT allows Sales Specialists have all sales recorded regardless of department. I think this is writing on the wall that specialists will be consolidated and be expected to sell across the floor. We do without specialists in most stores in both W/W and electrical and still use the same SOS and install programs, most PT appliance associates have roughly the same sales per hour worked as the specialist, and most stores have no difference between their plumbing Pro and their plumbing Specialist sales wise.
This would be an indicator that these people are needed but the title is not. I do believe that management at the store level will be cut as well but when you are having less business come through the door changes have to be made.
I, like you, don't know if I will be with the company in 5 years and that s---s. I do know if we don't makes these changes none of us will be in 10.
The post is not mine, I saw it here @NTaeAv4-8zsj and reposted it. I tend to agree with most of what was said by EducatedGuess