• Whole Foods just slashed its marketing staff, as Amazon continues to push the brand to cut costs.
• Business Insider obtained a recording of the 7-minute phone call in which the layoffs were announced.
• The terminated marketing employees must continue work until July 2 in order to collect their severance pay.
Whole Foods just decimated its marketing staff.
Business Insider obtained a recording of a conference call from Thursday during which Nicole Wescoe, president of Whole Foods’ northeast region, announced the cuts.
Westcoe announced that the store graphic artist position, as well as all regional marketing office positions below associate coordinator, were being terminated. The cuts are company-wide, and do not just apply to Whole Foods’ northeast region.
Westcoe said that the move came about as a result of the company’s efforts to centralize “the creation and production of signage and decisions around signage needs.”
“This means that the SGA role will be removed from the Whole Foods Market structure,” she said.
In order to collect severance pay, the Whole Foods SGAs must remain working until July 2, as the brand is not yet ready to replace its signage.
The severance package features two weeks of severance pay for each year of employment. The minimum severance is two weeks, while the maximum is 26 weeks. In addition, employee benefits will last until the end of July.
“I want you guys to understand that decisions like this across the company — it is no reflection on how we value you, the work you do, and how you show up every day,” Westcoe said.
Westcoe also spoke about opportunities for the affected marketing staffers to apply to new marketing or store roles.
“We will help support, partner, and champion you to find another position within Whole Foods Market,” Westcoe said. “If you believe that you want to stay with the company and move forward, I want to tell you that I will make it my business to help you do just that.”
If you’re a Whole Foods worker with a story to share email retail@businessinsider.com.
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