Empty shelves, less fresh vegetables and dairy. Albert Heijn customers are noticing the consequences of the strike in the distribution centres. “My wife is now going to the Dirk for the yoghurt,” says a man from Assen who is now shopping alone in the AH XL.
In five of the six large distribution centers of supermarket chain Albert Heijn, staff have been on strike since Sunday. Consequence? Empty shelves, because the supply is halting. Will that lead to fewer customers? In the XL branch of the large grocer in the Triade shopping center in Assen, not much sensible can be said about the latter on this morning of King’s Day.
For example, a middle-aged man from the Drenthe capital obviously knows that his regular supermarket is currently experiencing logistical problems due to the strike. It doesn’t stop him from shopping with bonus. Although? It is precisely the boxes in which products that can be purchased with a bonus look empty.
‘Especially fresh vegetables, dairy and salads not available’
“There are indeed a lot of empty shelves, but I am still not too bad. Especially fresh vegetables, dairy and salads are not available,” says the Assenaar. His wife has since moved to the neighboring Dirk supermarket for yoghurt.
A fresh produce manager from the Asser XL refills the compartment with orange tompouces. According to him, he has not heard any complaints from customers so far. And he is not too bad at what is currently missing from the shelves. “Sure, you see. Especially fresh stuff, and dairy. But this store is so big at almost 2000 square meters, there is still something for everyone.”
Nevertheless, the strike should not last much longer, says the AH member. “Even if they resume work in the distribution centers tonight, it will take a few days for the whole trade to return to normal. Don’t forget that production has also come to a standstill. Before all the shelves are stocked as usual, it will be another week.”
Also stock fillers from the shelves
The strike not only affects the shelves, but also the stock fillers. There is currently much less work for them. In the AH at the Westerhaven in Groningen, for example, two ‘fillers’ are sufficient, while normally at least seven to eight young people are needed to get all products to the shelves and to the refrigerator on time.
Incidentally, you will find fewer empty shelves in the AH in Uithuizen than in Groningen and Assen. “Yesterday we had some supplies of everything,” says branch manager Cedric.
He thinks they got lucky. “Customers do have questions, but they are not complaining yet,” says Cedric. “We also notice a decrease in the supply of dairy and fresh products. And some of our ‘slow runners’, stuff you don’t sell very much every day, are also running out. We also normally receive goods from the distribution center in Geldermalsen, where there is a strike.”
‘There were many more empty shelves in Winsum than here’
Cedric predicts that even if there is only a short strike, serious problems will arise within two or three days. “After that, it will take about two weeks before everything, in terms of supply, is back to how it should be in this store.”
No, he doesn’t have a net with onions in one hand and a case of Hertog Jan beer in the other, just to be sure. “Haha, we needed both”, says an Uithuizer who is not yet worried about the consequences of the strike.
A man who lives between Winsum and Uithuizen pays for his groceries at the checkout. ,,Yesterday there were many more empty shelves in the Albert Heijn in Winsum than here, even though it belongs to the same owner. That is why I went to Uithuizen today. And luckily they still have the red pointed peppers we needed here.”
Northeast especially hit by strike
According to a spokeswoman for Albert Heijn, the impact of the strike is mainly i visible on supermarket shelves in the northeast and southwest of the country. This concerns both fresh and non-perishable products, according to the spokeswoman. According to her, more than half of the supermarkets could still be well supplied on Wednesday, despite the strike in the distribution centers.
Meanwhile, employees in five of the six distribution centers of the supermarket chain have been laid off since Wednesday. These are the locations in Zaandam, Zwolle, Geldermalsen, Tilburg and Pijnacker. The strike started on Sunday and was initially expected to last through Wednesday. On Tuesday, however, the unions indicated that they would continue until Albert Heijn comes up with an improved wage offer.
The unions are mainly concerned with the action for extra wages for distribution employees to compensate for the high inflation. They think that Albert Heijn offers far too little pay rise. In addition, they are angry that the retail chain is proposing a deterioration of, for example, the Sunday allowance for new employees.