Massive layoffs at the “Sportmaster” trade network: what is really going on?

The “Sportmaster” company is going to lay off its employees to avoid bankruptcy. Information about this spread around the numerous media and caused a flurry of indignation among users of social networks. The comments of numerous lawyers, assessing the legality and ethics of such an act in a pandemic and under the recommendations of the authorities to avoid possible dismissals, rained down.

The “Sportmaster” network was previously included in the cherished list of Russian enterprises that are considered strategically important, which means that it can count on the financial support from the state. Therefore, the negative reaction of the audience, that got to know about the layoffs, is understandable.

As a result, Sergey Agibalov, who takes the position of business manager in “Sportmaster”, had to make excuses. It turned out that there was no question of any closure of trading enterprises and the official dismissal of employees. It was about a downtime of the shops that were closed due to the introduction of a special regime to counter the spread of the disease.

According to the explanations, given by the representative of the company, it was offered to the employees to either stay at home and receive a minimum salary for the period of inactivity, or temporarily find work in other trade networks, receiving a small supplement of 5 thousand rubles from “Sportmaster”.

It is clear that such a supplement is less than the salaries of those who actually do not work, but are not fired. At the same time, Sergey Agibalov said that layoffs are taking place, but only voluntary and not massive (approximately 3-5% of the total number of employees).

The clarifications, received from the leadership of “Sportmaster” turned out to be very helpful. If the company's reaction to the rumors that appeared was more operational, the company's plans to reduce its staff in the face of economic uncertainty would not be discussed so eagerly. However, the response measures, which were not taken by the management of “Sportmaster”, can provoke other companies, forced to close at least until the end of April, to make such actions.

The lawyers remind that in this case, it is required to warn employees at least two months in advance, continuing to pay salaries and severance pay, otherwise, the company risks falling under the sanctions of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

If there is a company of the size of “Sportmaster”, then the reputational losses will become inevitable, which may lead to real bankruptcy. And then it will be clearly not enough to “fend off” the negative comments of the indignant public with references to the fact that the company has increased online orders and plans to expand the staff of the contact center, as “Sportmaster” did on a social network.