MOORESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Mooresville-based home improvement retailer Lowe’s has confirmed it is laying off a number of its employees.
One of the impacted employees told Queen City News all “tier one” workers at the company’s IT Service Desk were being let go. Those are the people who answer the phones in the call center when other Lowe’s staffers need technical assistance.
In an email obtained by Queen City News, managers informed laid-off workers that if they stayed on until their separation date, they would receive a retention award. The employee who contacted Queen City News said he was asked to stay through the end of the fiscal year. His retention award would be $7,000.
Because of his continued employment with Lowe’s, we agreed to keep his identity anonymous.
“I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it since I’ve been told, and I still have yet to truly figure out why,” the employee said.
The tech worker said he was informed the company would be outsourcing their call center overseas. He claimed it’s a move that goes directly against the company’s marketing.
“I find it disingenuous now when I see a Lowe’s commercial saying that they’re proudly helping Americans, or proudly helping veterans,” he said. “Myself and a few others on my team are veterans.”
A Lowe’s spokesperson would not confirm how many people they let go, or whether the company is in fact outsourcing its call center overseas.
In a statement, the spokesperson said:
“Lowe’s is continually evaluating how to improve its operations. As part of this process, we have made some staffing changes that affect the jobs of a limited number of corporate associates in non-customer-facing roles. Impacted associates will have the opportunity to apply for other open roles at Lowe’s and will be provided transition assistance. We will continue to ensure we have the people resources to successfully support our strategic business initiatives.”
Just last year, Lowe’s opened its 25-story tech hub in South End.
The employee said the decision was particularly puzzling since his team had been consistently praised for their high performance and had even been offered a monetary reward.
“Just a couple months prior to this announcement, all hourly employees across the company were given a discretionary bonus because we had done so well in the quarter,” he said.
Lowe’s reported it had earned $2.7 billion in net earnings in the second quarter of this year. The company said its sales were down 1.6 percent compared to last year’s second quarter.
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