A major restructuring plan is on the cards for pharmacy giant Dis-Chem, which employees fear may put several hundred jobs – from its 22 000-strong workforce – on the line, but which the group has said will open up new positions, reports IOL.
CEO Rui Morais last week said that although it had initiated a Section 189 process, a mandatory consultation phase dictated by the Labour Relations Act for companies contemplating operational restructuring – and which generally alarms staff – far from a simple downsizing measure, the strategic pivot would actually pad the payroll in specific areas.
More 500 head office workers had been invited to join these discussions.
Morais said frontline employees stationed at retail branches and distribution hubs were entirely insulated from the corporate shake-up.
“Without context, when people hear Section 189, they immediately default to large-scale retrenchments,” Morais added. The legally required documentation often paints a harsher picture than reality, he noted.
“The unfortunate thing about a Section 189(3) Notice (which is issued to affected employees) is that it requires very blunt and rigid language.”
He said the reorganisation was vital to keep its operating model aligned with future ambitions of making healthcare more accessible and affordable.
“The process we're undertaking is designed to enable a new head office operating model, which will see an additional 200 jobs added to key head office departments in areas of the business where we have historically underinvested.”
This new organisational blueprint was meant to establish transparent chains of accountability and foster closer collaboration with the group's innovation hub, known as X, Bigly Labs, which drives forward-thinking corporate initiatives like the brand's Better Rewards programme.
A spokesperson said the process followed eight months of planning for a new operating model.
The company said it “remains committed to meaningful consultation with those impacted by the process and …exploring alternatives to retrenchment”, focusing instead on reshaping the firm's architecture to secure long-term market growth.
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