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Meijer's experimental bagging system could lead to job cuts Associated Press WALKER, Mich. - Meijer Inc. is experimenting with a new bagging system that the retailer may put in all of its 158 stores in a cost-cutting move that would eliminate nearly 8,000 bagging jobs. Meijer has started installing the ring-and-bag system, as it is known, at a store in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming. The store is being used for trial runs in testing new equipment technology and streamlining operations. At least 30 baggers there are losing their jobs. There may not be any baggers left at the store by the time all the systems are in place at the end of November. "The number (losing their jobs) may be as many as 50 baggers, but we don't know yet," said Brian Breslin, Meijer's vice president of public and consumer affairs. "We're going to wait and see how it works, but there's no reason to believe it won't be an efficiency change that we'll implement in all of our stores." Most of the affected positions are part time and held by high school students. The company still needs workers to handle carts, clean up stores and perform other utilitarian functions, Breslin told The Grand Rapids Press for a recent story. The new bagging system is Meijer's latest step to remain competitive against the Midwest's growing number of superstores that sell groceries and general merchandise. Multistate retail chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Kmart Holding Corp. have adapted the superstore concept launched in the 1960s by Walker-based Meijer, which has stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. Last month, Meijer laid off 350 administrative and supervisory employees. Company officials also announced that future stores will be constructed at less expense and include more efficient store formats and operating procedures. With the ring-and-bag system, cashiers scan prices, load items and put them in shopping carts using a rotating circular rack that holds bags at the end of a conveyor belt. "The ring-and-bag system is not new for us - we tried it in the 1970s - but the technology is much better now," Breslin said. "There's less need for people to bag and we're taking out things that add to our costs." He said Meijer is improving efficiency at all levels of its operation, including scheduling, stocking, delivery, merchandising and store displays. Technology also has improved the way shift and break changes are made by cashiers and decreased the number of clerks needed to handle money in each cash office, Breslin said. Instead of five to six people working in an office, only two are now needed. One of Meijer's two corporate planes also was taken out of service to reduce costs, he said. "Change can be uncomfortable, but everyone understands we need to change to remain healthy and prosperous," Breslin said. ON THE NET Meijer Inc., http://www.meijer.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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