Posted on 01/15/2022 2:27:25 PM PST by blam
Labor shortages at supermarkets across the country have increased in recent weeks as the COVID-19 omicron variant continues to spread. Workers are calling sick, and there are not enough cashiers, baggers, and stockers, forcing some supermarket chains to slash hours of operations. Compounding labor woes, supply chains are still severely snarled as food shortages are being reported nationwide.
WSJ reports supermarkets are having difficulty staying open as workers call out sick because of infection. Some grocers are frantically hiring new employees, using temporary employment agencies, and overworking current staff to keep stores from shuttering.
The seven-store supermarket chain Stew Leonard’s in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey had 200 employees in quarantine or isolation as of last Thursday despite a 90% employee-vaccination rate. This represents about 7% of all employees.
“We sort of feel like we’ve got to buckle down for round two,” Chief Executive Stew Leonard Jr. said, adding that the loss of employees to infections has hampered operations.
American supermarket chain Giant Eagle Inc. which operates 470 stores, has avoided closing locations amid the omicron surge by adjusting hours of operations. The company’s chief compliance officer, Vic Vercammen, said the company had seen a spike in workers calling sick because of infection.
Across Alabama and Georgia, Piggly Wiggly stores are overscheduling workers and using temporary work agencies to keep store shelves stocked as staffing woes developed this year because of the omicron spread. Operations have been affected, and store hours have been reduced in some locations.
In the Southeast, Harris Teeter supermarkets, owned by Kroger Co., will close one hour earlier, effective Monday, so that employees can restock shelves due to the loss of stockers.
Staffing shortages also impacted Fresh Encounter Inc., a 100-store supermarket chain based in Ohio. The chain is now closing at 10 pm local time versus 24 hours a day.
Michael Needler Jr., the chain’s chief executive of Fresh Encounter, said, “the staffing situation started out very tenuous. Layering in Omicron vacancies on top of that makes it very, very stressful.”
On top of staffing issues, supply-chain bottlenecks are plaguing supermarkets, resulting in bare shelves across the country.
Plan for the worst - hope for the best...
Ain’t seen nothing yet..
As it is things are slighting annoying or inconvenient.
But they could be much worse.
Especially with a half retarded puppet dictator calling the shots.
Things are bad enough.
“And if so, there could be a worse virus in our future”.
I’m afraid so.
that is everywhere
Been that way now for weeks.
Hard to find cream and pet food here.
SHelves are often bare plus the salad fixings are all wilted.
I have seven months of dry dog food in stock, eight months of frozen chicken (leg quarters) that I bake up and use as dog food too.
Yes, me too... I have two freezers full of meat and cream. I just went ahead and started freezing cream when it got scarce. I buy cans of pet food by the trayful, dozens at a time. I buy huge bags of dry pet food and have it in a huge hamper. I stocked up on toilet paper in 2020. We buy a lot of bottled water, for just in case. We have three Zero Water filter tanks full at all times. We lived on the coast where we had hurricanes and power outages - never had any damages to our home. We lived on west coast where we had earthquakes and santa ana winds, and power outages. So we stay stocked up at all times. My pantry is so full it is crazy. But stores like Target art hit and miss on everything.
I feel I am watching my country slowly come apart at the seams. Calculated, deliberate and planned. I don’t like what I am seeing. People have become possessed by the virus. I am reading on social sites where people are getting tested at least once a week, repeatedly. I weep for those who fought and gave so much for our freedom. Many Americans should hang their heads in shame.
That is what we always do in hurricane season when we lived on the coast. And in California w kept a gallon of water in each room just in case of structural collapse, we’d have water. Now there was no guaranty that we could reach the water, but it was something we could do, in case of earthquake. We always used up the food in our freezer before hurricane season, in case power went out for a week or so.
I recently went to Costco and bought cases of veggies, tuna, fruits, chicken, etc. Stores neatly under a wide bookcase, cans still in the boxes. I figure if food shortage got super bad I can live on green beans. Those miners who got stuck deep under ground lived on a spoonful of tuna per day. I could stand to lose a million pounds!!!!
Each of the 33 miners trapped a half-mile underground lived on two spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk, a bite of crackers and a morsel of peaches. Every other day.
Not bad enough for sleepy joe.
Gotta cold?
People can survive a long time without fool but only a few days without water. Nice thing about canned veggies is they're packed in water. Enjoyed your comments - thanks buffy
We just left a Walmart in East TN. A lot of empty shelves. I left a few of those stickers of Trump saying, “Biden did this”.
Sometimes we throw a frozen pizza in the oven when we’re in a hurry. What cost $5 last year are over $6 now — and some over $8!!!
That’s right.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.