Countdown has announced store trading hours will change nationwide, some Auckland stores will close temporarily, and frontline staff will receive a 10 percent bonus as the country looks to enter its fourth day at alert level 4 tomorrow.
Four Auckland Countdown supermarkets will further reduce their trading hours due to having team members isolating after Covid-19 positive visits to those stores. (file pic) Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
From tomorrow, trading hours will change to 8am to 9pm, to help give teams time to restock shelves and meet the high levels of demand from customers, the company said in a statement.
Four Auckland stores will further reduce their trading hours due to having team members isolating after Covid-19 positive visits to those stores.
The affected branches are:
- Lynfield (8am-6pm)
- Takapuna (8am-6pm)
- Lincoln Road (9am-6pm)
- and Botany (9am-6pm).
- Countdown Birkenhead will remain closed until 31 August due to having team members isolating from across several different shifts.
Countdown's central Auckland Metro stores in Albert Street and Halsey Street will also temporarily close from Sunday, so that staff can work in other larger stores that are seeing higher demand since the lockdown began.
General manager corporate affairs, safety and sustainability Kiri Hannifin said while the store closures will be frustrating for some customers, it is a reality of the environment that many essential services are operating in.
"A number of our stores are locations of interest and our team are isolating, which we absolutely support. At the same time, we're looking at how we can best allocate our team across our stores to ensure we're also keeping our communities fed.
"This may mean further stores close or reduce their hours as all our teams pull together to help out," she said.
Countdown has also announced it will pay a bonus to those staff who are paid wages in its supermarkets, meat plant, customer care team and supply chain. The bonus will be the equivalent of an additional 10 percent more per hour worked at alert level 4.
Hannifin said since Covid-19 arrived in the country, supermarket staff had shown how essential they were.
The company was also supporting those over 70, immune-deficient and those with serious chronic illness so they could stay home and not worry about work.
"We're continuing to work closely with the Ministry of Health and local DHBs as well to roll out the vaccine to our team as quickly and safely as possible."
