I work at a chain grocery store in New Mexico. About 2 weeks ago we got a new store manager. I’ve been working for the company going on 6 years and suddenly I’m a problem. Technically speaking, I’m third in charge of the store. I have worked hard to get to this position and I eventually became “that guy” that everyone goes to for help just because I have the knowledge and experience. A couple days ago she pulled me into her office and gave me an ultimatum resulting in an inevitable demotion. Either drop down to the 6th in charge or start over from the bottom as a stocker, both with pay cuts. (Former -$2, latter -$4.50) Her main reasoning was my hourly pay rate is too high. My reasoning with her was my knowledge of the company gets cut as much as my pay does, and her only rebuttal was “that’s not how that works.”
I’m beyond frustrated, I feel stuck. She can’t expect me to continue performing the way I do with less pay and a lower title.
Another frustration of mine is she requires the team to use our personal cell phones for work, isn’t the company supposed to reimburse us if personal cell phones are required?
I’m not sure if I’m looking for advice, all I know is this just became a huge stressor in my life.