Employees of Hy-Vee are reporting layoffs within the company. People started contacting KCCI on Monday, reporting the cuts. KCCI has repeatedly tried to confirm the layoffs with Hy-Vee, but the West Des Moines-based company has shared few details. Employees tell KCCI most of the cuts were in the marketing and information technology departments, both remote and in the “Helpful Smiles Technology” center in Grimes. “While we are not sure what communication you are receiving or what’s being questioned, Hy-Vee is a strong and vibrant company,” Tina Potthoff, Senior Vice President of Communications at Hy-Vee told KCCI in a written statement Tuesday. “Like every company, our employee needs ebb and flow to match our business. In the midst of COVID-19, we had to significantly increase our projects across our business. With those projects launched, we have to make sure we remain focused on our stores and providing the best value and quality to our customers.”Potthoff went on to say Hy-Vee is still hiring at the corporate office, retail locations, and is expanding its footprint in the Des Moines metro and surrounding areas. Hy-Vee has roughly 93,000 employees across the company, according to Potthoff.Two employees who say they were let go, tell KCCI they were notified of a meeting on Monday morning and were released during that meeting shortly after. One says he was told the company is restructuring, the other says he was told his position was no longer needed. At least one employee told KCCI he was fired virtually in a one-on-one meeting Monday. When asked multiple times for more information regarding the cuts, Hy-Vee provided the above statement on Tuesday afternoon but no further details. KCCI has reached out to Hy-Vee again twice Wednesday afternoon for comment but has not heard back. KCCI also tried to confirm layoffs through Iowa Workforce Development.The Iowa Layoff Notification Law requires employers to give a 30-day notice if there is a permanent or temporary shutdown or a mass layoff that impacts 25 or more employees for a period of six months or more.The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act is a federal law that requires companies to give a 60-day notice when a closure affects at least 50 or more employees. It also requires notification when a mass layoff affects 500 or more workers or 33% of a company’s workforce. It is unclear whether Hy-Vee was required to give the government any notification for these cuts because the number of employees affected has not been publicly disclosed.IWD says any available public information, including notices of layoffs, is posted on its website. Hy-Vee is not listed.The last time Hy-Vee reported a notification was in May 2020 when it closed an Urbandale fulfillment center. Three hundred sixty-eight employees were let go at that time.
Employees of Hy-Vee are reporting layoffs within the company. People started contacting KCCI on Monday, reporting the cuts. KCCI has repeatedly tried to confirm the layoffs with Hy-Vee, but the West Des Moines-based company has shared few details.
Employees tell KCCI most of the cuts were in the marketing and information technology departments, both remote and in the “Helpful Smiles Technology” center in Grimes.
“While we are not sure what communication you are receiving or what’s being questioned, Hy-Vee is a strong and vibrant company,” Tina Potthoff, Senior Vice President of Communications at Hy-Vee told KCCI in a written statement Tuesday. “Like every company, our employee needs ebb and flow to match our business. In the midst of COVID-19, we had to significantly increase our projects across our business. With those projects launched, we have to make sure we remain focused on our stores and providing the best value and quality to our customers.”
Potthoff went on to say Hy-Vee is still hiring at the corporate office, retail locations, and is expanding its footprint in the Des Moines metro and surrounding areas. Hy-Vee has roughly 93,000 employees across the company, according to Potthoff.
Two employees who say they were let go, tell KCCI they were notified of a meeting on Monday morning and were released during that meeting shortly after. One says he was told the company is restructuring, the other says he was told his position was no longer needed.
At least one employee told KCCI he was fired virtually in a one-on-one meeting Monday.
When asked multiple times for more information regarding the cuts, Hy-Vee provided the above statement on Tuesday afternoon but no further details. KCCI has reached out to Hy-Vee again twice Wednesday afternoon for comment but has not heard back.
KCCI also tried to confirm layoffs through Iowa Workforce Development.
The Iowa Layoff Notification Law requires employers to give a 30-day notice if there is a permanent or temporary shutdown or a mass layoff that impacts 25 or more employees for a period of six months or more.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act is a federal law that requires companies to give a 60-day notice when a closure affects at least 50 or more employees. It also requires notification when a mass layoff affects 500 or more workers or 33% of a company’s workforce.
It is unclear whether Hy-Vee was required to give the government any notification for these cuts because the number of employees affected has not been publicly disclosed.
IWD says any available public information, including notices of layoffs, is posted on its website. Hy-Vee is not listed.
The last time Hy-Vee reported a notification was in May 2020 when it closed an Urbandale fulfillment center. Three hundred sixty-eight employees were let go at that time.