A luxury retail brand is asking Auckland workers to take voluntary redundancy, cut their hours or take unpaid leave after sales have dived in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
DFS Galleria in Auckland's CBD sells brands like Burberry, Versace, Prada and Tom Ford to name a few, and it relies heavily on the tourist market.
Kate Davis from First Union says a hundred workers are now facing an uncertain future and she expects the problem to spread to other retail stores.
"It's devastating," she told Checkpoint.
"It's the company notifying staff that due to this huge impact that the lack of travel has had on the business, they're asking the workers, consulting with them about taking voluntary redundancy, or a voluntary reduction in hours, or voluntary unpaid leave."
Davis told Checkpoint she thinks the company has done a good job, but staff are feeling incredibly insecure.
"So far they've complied with all of the legislative requirements that they have to. There's absolutely no hesitation in paying people to self-quarantine, no hesitation in making sure they have everything that they're supposed to supply. But now unfortunately you can go into the Customs St store and there's just nobody walking around. The store is completely empty.
"And we've got a very skilled staff who have been there for a long time. Most of the staff at the minimum [are required] that they speak two languages. We've got workers that have been there up to 28 years who can speak six languages.
"It's a 100 percent tourist market and a huge portion of that of course as an Asian market.
"We are looking at one store at the moment but as a microcosm of what is going to be a greater problem.
"If you look at … souvenir stores that are dependent on selling sheepskin rugs at the bottom of Queen St. All of them are going to be affected, and I don't see how they can maintain."
In a statement DFS group says: "In view of the impact that Covid-19 is having on our communities and people, DFS is introducing voluntary flexible work arrangements to our employees. These include Voluntary Unpaid Leave and Voluntary Part-Time Working in some of our stores and offices. It's intended to support our employees during slower business conditions and an uncertain environment. We look forward to welcoming travelers in all our locations when the situation improves."
