Wagga’s Amart Furniture opened its doors to the community less than a year ago and a former employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, said more than half of their full-time staff have been made redundant with less than one day’s notice. 

“This company promised me the world when I joined and worked me to a point of breakdown,” a person in their late-40’s claimed. 

“I saw this coming and got out just before Christmas and I was lucky enough to pick up a great job where they actually practice what they preach.

“The Wagga store had four full-time sale staff and two of those were made redundant; in the office, they had two full-time staff, with one made redundant; and in the dispatch-warehouse area, they only had one full-time staff and made him redundant.” 

The ex-Wagga employee said they had not replaced his position as dispatch manager and the company is only employing casual workers or offering those redundant to become casual. 

“These casuals will only be put on during busy periods and if they come in and it’s quiet, they will be sent home after three hours; who can afford to live off that?,” they said. 

“This is happening company wide, they shed staff and don’t say why; it’s ridiculous, far from what the company told me about always being there for you. 

“Many workers all of a sudden don’t have an income and it’s quite debilitating and can lead to depression.”

The former employee said he was often left to lifting products that required at least two people. 

“I was coming home sore and hardly moving and it was only a matter of time before I was going to be injured,” they said. 

“I would never recommend this company to anyone.” 

A couple, also wishing to remain anonymous, worked at another Amart Furniture in NSW and were both made redundant after contributing 35 years in total to the company. 

“My position was in the office and I received a phone call last week on Tuesday evening at about 7pm from my manager, who asked me to come in on my day off for a staff meeting at 3.30pm,” the wife said. 

“He told me that I would be paid for three hours and I was just told it was restructuring at work and all staff had to attend. 

“I went in and it seemed to be just a couple of groups and then it went to just individuals and two colleagues who had a meeting prior were made redundant and then they terminated my position too.” 

The woman was made redundant six months prior to reaching 20 years at the company and said this decision was completely unexpected. 

“I’m pretty p***ed off, very upset and disappointed as my partner was also made redundant and now the two of us have no form of income,” she said. 

“They offered me a casual position at the time and I was so upset and could not think, but I told them the following day that I could never go back after nearly 20 years of service and the way they treated me.”

The couple said a round of redundancies in the company was made in May and the husband said he had a “gut feeling” by the way the business had changed its operations. 

“The store changed their operations, particularly in transport, and brought in more discounts and a lot of head office people were leaving abruptly,” he said. 

“We’ve gone from five warehouse staff to just one staff left on a Sunday and I’ve had to lift products weighing over 100 kilograms by myself.

“The store went from five full-time staff and one casual to now only having one full-time manager and two casuals.”  

Another anonymous former full-time employee at Amart Furniture contacted The DA and said being made redundant has been a “humiliating” experience. 

“It was heartbreaking and devastating and the only reason I was given, was that my position was no longer required and there was no where else to put me,” the former employee said. 

“Everything was fine rocking up to work and then the next thing I’m in tears being escorted to my car.

“I was lucky enough to get employment but it was a huge blow and there’s no loyalty, it’s not right to be playing with people’s lives when there was no indication of any of this happening.” 

The former employee said many will likely struggle to find another job because of their age. 

“One of my colleagues had been there for a couple of decades and those that have been there for so long are going to find it hard to get another job because of a lack of experience outside of Amart,” they said. 

“Amart made a heap of people redundant nationwide back in May, with less than a day notice and these people weren’t offered a casual position.” 

A spokesperson from Amart Furniture said the company is “changing” how it resources stores through a series of initiatives to improve processes across the business. 

“Unfortunately, this has led to three roles being made redundant at our Wagga Wagga store,” the spokesperson said. 

“We don’t take these decisions lightly. As a result, we’re providing a range of support services to the people affected.

“We’re thankful for the support of our team and customers.”

Despite two claims from previous employees saying they were left by themselves to lift heavy products that require at least two people, the Amart Furniture spokesperson said they were not aware of any breach to occupational health and safety policies. 

“Amart Furniture’s occupational health and safety policy provides for strict limits on the weight of items that team members are permitted to lift or carry,” they said. 

“We’re not aware of any breach of the policy at our Wagga Wagga store.

“We will investigate the claims and, if required, address any such breach.”

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