Kroger to Slash Hourly Workers to Avoid Obamacare Penalties

Flopping Aces ^ | 11/4/2012 | Doug Ross

[tobyhill]

Operative Faith reveals that Kroger will soon join the ranks of Durden Restaurants and slash the hours of its non-exempt (hourly) workers to avoid millions in Obamacare penalties.

To give you a sense of Kroger’s size and importance, its sales last year were $90 billion and it employs nearly 350,000 people. Most of its jobs are hourly and the vast majority of workers are neither millionaires or billionaires.

Faith is a mid-level manager at Kroger and reports the dire news:

Last week we found out that, beginning in January, any employee who is not full-time at that point,will be limited to 28 hours per week and all new hires will be subject to the same policy.

Currently, part-time employees can work as many hours as needed.

Many Kroger employees, I believe, will be shocked to find out about this new policy.

[Faith]

Lots of Kroger stores in Ohio. And yes, they are unionized.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“every job becomes 2 jobs!!”

Any the unions get twice as many members, hence, twice as many dues-paying members!

[Conserev1]

This is one way to redistribute the wealth.
All employees will make the same and all will be on the same level. As one said 1 job becomes 2 and ACA is circumvented.
In turn you have low salaries and a fine to the Gov if you do not provide health ins for your self. Looks to be a penalty for those who are productive and want their family to prosper.
What a great plan!
And believe if the Dems would have read the ACA there would be no loop hole!
2k for new employees, simple there are none!
It’s the new America. Get used to it!

[nascarnation]

Agree.
We buy our groceries at WalMart and meats at a butcher shop.

[tobyhill]

I avoid Kroger. I live in a predominately white neighborhood but they put a DART bus station right by the local Kroger and now the only employees are black and they treat anyone who shops there like crap. The problem is that the Management could care less so I quit shopping there.

[Mich Patriot]

Aaahhhh, the unintended consequences of gubermint meddling. They’ll NEVER learn.

“...and the more the plans fail, the more the planners plan.” - RReagan

[ClearCase_guy]

If full-time workers cost the company a lot of money (Obamacare) then companies will desire fewer full-time workers.
We see this happening before our eyes.

If women will perform the same work that a man does, for only 73 cents where a man is paid $1, then companies will fire male workers and staff up with as many women as possible.
I don't see this happening anywhere.

QED: The whole "73 cents" thing that feminists push is a bunch of baloney. Companies WILL make decisions that benefit their bottomline. Companies WILL emphasize part-time workers to avoid Obamacare. But the "underpaid woman" thing is a myth.

[Irenic]

The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.
Michelle Obama
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/michelle_obama.html#TT1qI27UCwovXAq5.99

[sarge83]

Kroger employees are union whores and deserve this in spades.

[steve86]

Kroger is huge now with many subsidiaries and over 3,500 stores. Fred Meyer, here in the PNW, buys more newspaper advertising than anyone else.

[GeronL]

yeppers

less food stamps too

[opticks]

"This is no accident, folks. This was planned. This is how we get to government-run single-payer health insurance - by making it too expensive for private businesses to provide insurance to their employees."

That was the plan all along, but the gov't didn't have the money, expertise, or infrastructure to run that kind of system, so they needed to buy some time, perhaps a decade. Thus, we get the stop-gap system, Obamacare.

[steve86]

Most Kroger employees are Obama supporters.

That seems to be true now for just about any kind of large organization.

[lone star annie]

Kroger is union too. I am sure they were encouraged by their dear union brethren to vote for the O. My daughter worked there part time while she was in school and had to belong to the union.

[Smokeyblue]

This was predicted. Old article from September.

Franchisors warn Obamacare will halve profits

http://washingtonexaminer.com/franchisors-warn-obamacare-will-halve-profits/article/2507920#.UFJO_rKPWSp

The International Franchise Association held a convention in Washington this week where most of the Radio Shack, Dunkin Donuts, Curves and other franchisers were grumbling about new federal regulations, especially the impact of Obamacare.

Most, said Atlanta Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken franchiser David Barr, presumed that the reports about how hard Obamacare will hit them were overblown. “They had their head in the sand,” he told Secrets.

[ArrogantBustard]

I’ve seen them at Home Depot or Lowes, can’t recall which.

In VA and WV, both Lowes and Home Despot have self-checkout lanes.

[scrabblehack]

Most people will need two jobs.

[nascarnation]

It’s a double win.

The Death Panels not only help fix the SS/Medicare financials, but help kill off old primarily Republican voters faster.

[null and void]

Since the election:

Layoff numbers

Organization	# Laid off	Running total	Sector	Notes
AMD	400	400	Electronics
American Coal	54	454	Energy
Ameridose	790	1244	Health
Art Gallery of Windsor	12	1256	Art Gallery	Canada
Associated Milk Producers Inc	130	1386	Agriculture
ATI	172	1558	Education
Atlantic Lotto Corp	16	1574	Gaming
Bartikowsky Jewelers	25	1599	Retail	Business closure
Boston Scientific	1200	2799	Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Brake Parts LLC	75	2874	Automotive
Bristol-Myers Squibb	479	3353	Health
Career Education Corp	900	4253	Education
Caterpillar	100	4353	Construction Eq
Center for Hospice and Palliative Care	40	4393	Health
Cigna	1300	5693	Health
Commerzbank AG	6000	11693	Finacial Services	Cuts in Germany
Community Newspaper Holdings Inc	21	11714	Media
Corning	100	11814	Manufacturing
Covidien	595	12409	Health
Crouse Hospital Syracuse	70	12479	Health
CVPH	17	12496	Health
Dana Holding Corp	7	12503	Automotive
dapd	100	12603	Media	Cuts in Gemany
DuPont	64	12667	Defense	Kevlar/Nomex plant. Planning 1500 layoffs 2013.
Energizer	1500	14167	Energy
Ericsson	1550	15717	Consumer Electronics	Cuts in Sweden
Exide	150	15867	Energy
Gameforge Berlin	20	15887	Online Games	Cuts in Germany
Groupon	600	16487	Consumer
Hawker Beechcraft	410	16897	Aerospace
Hill-Rom	200	17097	Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Husqvarna	600	17697	Tools	Cuts in Sweden
Iberia	7000	24697	Airline	Cuts in Spain
ING	2350	27047	Finacial Services
Kinetic Concepts	427	27474	Health
Lightyear Network Solutions	14	27488	Software/internet
Lower Bucks Hospital	30	27518	Health
Majestic Star Cassino	80	27598	Entertainment
Medtronic	500	28098	Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Mills Manufacturing	68	28166	Defense
Momentive Performance Materials	150	28316	Chemicals
Murray Energy Corporation	48	28364	Energy
New Energy	40	28404	Energy
OCE	135	28539	Office equip
Penn Refrigeration	40	28579	Commercial Service
PerkinElmer	66	28645
Pratt & Whitney Rockedyne	100	28745	Aerospace
Providence Journal	23	28768	Media
Research in Motion	200	28968	Consumer Electronics
SAS	6000	34968	Airline	Cuts in Scandinavian countries
Smith & Nephew	104	35072	Med Eq/Dev Mfg
Southeastern Container	15	35087	Consumer
SRA International	222	35309	IT Federal contractor
St Jude Medical	300	35609	Health
Stryker	96	35705	Med Eq/Dev Mfg
TE Connectivity	620	36325	Electronics
Teco Coal Corporation	90	36415	Energy
The Commercial Appeal	11	36426	Media
TMX Group, Ltd.	100	36526	Finacial Services	Cuts in Canada
TurboCare	88	36614	Energy
U.S. Cellular	980	37594	Electronics
Umatilla Chemical Depot	34	37628	Defense
UtahAmerican Energy	102	37730	Energy
Vestas	3000	40730	Energy
Welch Allyn	275	41005	Med Eq Mfg
West Ridge Mine	102	41107	Energy
Westinghouse	17	41124	Hi Tech Services
Westinghouse Anniston	50	41174	Defense
Wingspan Portfolio Advisors	459	41633	Finacial Services
Wright-Patterson	115	41748	Defense
Yakima Regional Medical Center	10	41758	Health

Layoffs without exact number specified

Organization	% Laid off		Sector	Notes
Boeing Defense, Space & Security	30		Defense	Executive Staff
EMD Millipore	2		Biotech
Plexus Corp			Manufacturing
Saugerties, NY			Government
SCA			Paper products
Slidell, LA			Government	"Will try to spread equally"
Standard Bank Group	10		Banking	London
United Blood Services	10		Health	All staff
Wilkes-Barre, PA			Government	Firefighters

Worker Reduction In Scheduled Time (to below ObamaCare threshold)

Organization	% WRIST	# Affected	Sector	Notes
Darden Restaurants			Food service
JANCOA Janitorial Services			Janitorial Service
Kroger			Grocery

[dfwgator]

Most people will need two jobs.

Life imitates "Hey Mon"