Countdown addresses supply shortages as 1000 staff in isolation

March 1, 2022

Countdown are struggling to restock supermarket shelves as close to 1000 employees nationwide are isolating due to Covid-19.

Around 45 per cent of employees in Countdown's two Auckland distribution centres are in isolation, while a further 10 per cent of Auckland in-store employees are isolating either as a positive Covid case or as a household contact.

Countdown's director of corporate affairs, safety and sustainability Kiri Hannifin said the lack of staff had impacted the amount of produce being distributed to stores, hence why some had empty shelves.

"The key thing is that there is plenty of food and groceries to go around - it's just taking longer to get through. Please bear with us," Hannifin said.

"With fewer team members available to work across the network, we’re prioritising getting key lines and essentials into our stores, so customers may not always see their favourite brands or products. We’re also changing how we operate in some stores and distribution centres, by doing things like temporarily shifting team around to support critical areas and reducing hours if we need to.

"Our team is doing their best to ensure our customers, particularly those who are staying at home and isolating, get what they need, but it is challenging at the moment."

Hannifin said all staff in isolation were doing okay, while Rapid Antigen Tests would be available for purchase at Countdown pharmacies from this week.

Likewise, Foodstuffs also said it was suffering a staffing shortage due to the virus.

Corporate affairs manager Emma Wooster said getting products to stores and onto shelves was Foodstuffs' "biggest issue" at the moment.

"As some of our suppliers are being impacted by staff having to isolate, we've been working with them to find the best way to maximise product availability in stores, including giving priority to stocking the most popular items first.

"We expect the supply chain to be lumpy with intermittent gaps on shelves as Omicron reaches its peak."

It comes as there are 19,566 Covid-19 community cases in NZ on Tuesday.

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