UAE retailer Majid Al Futtaim to reassign over 1,000 employees to Carrefour

UAE retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim has announced the temporary reassignment of more than 1,000 employees to its Carrefour business.

The employee redeployment programme across the region will see 1,015 employees from VOX Cinemas, Magic Planet, Little Explorers and Ski Dubai across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman and Lebanon join the company’s Carrefour section to assist with online order fulfilment, food packing, and stock replenishment among other tasks, a statement said.

The redeployment programme has been activated to retain employees within the broader company ecosystem.

The employees have been assigned to positions across the Carrefour business, including supermarkets, hypermarkets, darkstores, fulfilment and distribution centres, to fulfil increased demand at both Carrefour’s physical and online stores.

Ahead of the redeployment, employees have completed the requisite training.

In the first three weeks of March, Carrefour has seen a spike in customer demand across the region with daily online sales increasing by 50 per cent compared to the same period in February.

“In times of uncertainty, our commitment to our community of customers, employees, tenants and suppliers only becomes stronger,” said Alain Bejjani, chief executive officer at Majid Al Futtaim – Holding.

“The employee redeployment programme is a fantastic opportunity for our leisure, entertainment and cinema employees to continue to learn and explore new experiences in other parts of our business during this time. I am extremely proud of each one of them as they have shown a relentless desire to support their colleagues across the company and ensure our customers continue to have access to essential items.”

Nafie Hamed Ibrahim Ali, customer service officer at VOX Cinemas said: “I have worked with Majid Al Futtaim for the past 9 years and I volunteered to join the programme, like many of my colleagues. It is a great opportunity for me, and I am proud that I can continue to be of service during such a challenging time.”