By Emily Bencic
Big W has flagged plans to cut more than 180 jobs nationwide as it expects poor store performance and a loss for the 2015-16 financial year.
A Big W spokesperson told media that the company would be combining two manager positions into one single role across every store in Australia.
“It’s a challenging time in the retail market. This poor performance requires us to make some changes. Big W has asked managers to ensure that their staff hours are aligned with peak customer shopping times,” the spokesperson said.
It is understood that there may be more evening and weekend work depending on demand from shoppers.
These aren't the first controversial cuts Big W staff have suffered this year.
Big W boss Sally MacDonald, who took over the job January this year, controversially sacked 40 buyers ans assistant buyers from the company's Bella Vista head office in May. The aim was to restructure the stores overseas buying and source products directly from Hong Kong.
Big W is a division of Woolworths and employs almost 23,000 people across 186 stores.
Appliance Retailer has contacted Big W for further comment.
This story first appeared in Appliance Retailer.