Ed store near kmart
Camera Icon A couple Wesfarmers’ major retail players are scrambling to ensure there’s enough staff to handle the Christmas surge and avoid a drop in in-store service levels. In the US, this has led to several retailers and food businesses having to close their doors due to a lack of available staff.įurther complicating the situation in Australia is a pandemic-driven shortage of shipping containers and huge backlogs at international ports, which has created a major supply chain crunch and led to significant delays on stock and transport. This trend – the so-called Great Resignation – has seen many people reassess their lives and move locations and jobs as they emerge from lockdown, forcing many businesses to improve conditions and wages in an attempt to hold on to staff in a hyper-competitive hiring market.
NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone Credit: News Corp Australia Camera Icon Retail tsar Paul Zahra sails the sector is facing a ‘perfect storm’, with an estimated $60bn on the line over the next six weeks. Gone are the international students and travellers usually relied upon to fill casual positions during the Christmas rush, while a wider labour market upheaval has seen workers engage in some post-pandemic soul searching. Officeworks said while its own situation was not as severe, it was still feeling the pinch as the retail sector finds itself at the centre of several converging pressures. Kmart told the Sydney Morning Herald this week that for the first time in its history it was facing a staff shortage at Christmas, with more than 2500 positions needed across 179 stores.