Before it even started in the stores…. It started with the executive team jumping ship. Then more people in corporate started quitting and the positions were either eliminated after they left or we were told the positions would get filled but the positions were never posted. Leaving those left behind to take on more work and rushing timeline which meant sending things to stores that had no proofing or were basically sh-t because of the rush and pressure. THEN it went into the stores. Even with the stores being cut we were still rushing timelines and trying to change processes which was messing everything up for the stores. Now it’s happened in corporate. It felt like the hunger games yesterday. Scooping people from their cubes and packing up their belongings after they didn’t come back. Watching what felt like hundreds of employees leaving the building crying. And to top it off, at the end of the day we had an all hands meeting where our execs basically said you’re (we - us left behind) are running the company. Trying to make it sound like it was a good thing and the autonomy is grand and that we are still ONEJOANN. This is not a people company. Just a bunch of d-mb men making too much money and making risky and detrimental financial decisions…… the ditto…. Wtf. Going public after a pandemic… because that’s smart. Planning 20+ projects a year without fully training people. Turnover after turnover due to bad decision making. If this company was ran by women we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Then not paying our vendors so we look good for our stock holders. The people let go yesterday and over the months don’t know it yet but they are the lucky ones because those of us left behind will pick up all this extra work with less people (even though they promised that won’t happen - they promise a lot and we’ve lost all hope in them - the excess are not friendly clever Ally’s) eat the rich! Also I’m sure that the next step is bankruptcy and when that happens and they let people go…. Guess what - no severance. I used to love my job but throughout the year of 2023 I have grown to hate coming in every day
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I was there for several years working in their operations. Most of the executive team are clueless. Several including the lady who is the top HR person was just mean and disengaged. Joann stores spends most of their time trying to be woke and make people feel good but never addressing their problems.
Luna Lake speaks truth - this is all 100% accurate and even worse
I left on my own and I suggest that you consider leaving too. It's not worth it, all the stress and lack of stability.
All that other posters are saying is correct. The execs are not good stewards of the company, there is no concern for the worker.
JOANN executives should unilaterally be fired. I know it sounds harsh, but these people have absolutely NO IDEA how to run a company. The decisions that have been made are a desperate attempt to keep the company afloat. How in the world can you run a company encouraging full-time people to quit, only to want to re-hire them back as part-time employees with a major paycut. There are stores with rat problems that are not being addressed and the fact that there are often 2-3 people working an entire store during shifts should tell you all you need to know. Middle level managers (with a few exceptions) are absolutely HORRIBLE at managing people...isn't that their jobs? There is no training programs and you learn as you go, but God forbid you make a mistake. They let go people that work hard, but keep people that kiss managers' butts. They don't want to hear any solutions or ideas, but will fire you if you disagree or even question anything at all. The CEO "retired" abrubtly earlier this year and the bafoons at corporate and the board don't seem to be willing to own up to their mistakes. I've never seen more people at one company hate their jobs than at JOANN. All those poor souls left behind after these layoffs will be forced to do twice the amount of work, doing their work and the work of everyone laid off. There will be a mass exodus out of this hellhole soon enough because workers will not tolerate being treated inhumanely. If you ever were thinking about getting a job here, run...don't walk...run far away from this pit of he-l. If there are certain managers from JOANN reading this...you KNOW who you are and you will be spending the rest of eternity in the pit of he-l for how you treat your subordinates.
I left JOANN about a year ago. They didn't backfill my role, just took that work and gave it to a few people to do (who were already overworked). I am heartbroken for everyone impacted by this, SO many talented, hard-working people were let go yesterday, and yet so much dead weight wasn't cut. The people (old white men) with the "big ideas" wasted the most money and resources on the"blue ocean" projects (eye roll) while ignoring the real problems in the company. I hope everyone let go yesterday finds their way to better roles with better companies!