Valero Slims to Grow
SAN ANTONIO -- Nearly five years after refiner and marketer Valero Energy Corp. initiated a rebranding of its nationwide convenience stores, the company will again restructure the retail side of its company, reported the San Antonio Business Journal.
The plan will add 100 new stores in the U.S., and also cut 130 positions from its above-store-level retail staff, which is made up of 600 employees.
"Valero has enacted a profit-improvement initiative within its retail division, with a central goal to reduce overhead costs," Bill Day, spokesman for Valero, told the newspaper. "This ... is designed to help Valero be more competitive in the convenience industry and more efficient in day-to-day operations."
The 130 positions to be cut are at the regional director level, he said. As a result of the restructuring, local store managers will receive more control over their merchandise and pricing, he added.
To trim its workforce, Valero will offer its early retirement plan for eligible employees. Those who do not wish to retire will be offered other opportunities within the company or a voluntary severance, Day told the Journal.
The company expects all staffing changes to be completed by June 1.
The expansion plan will take five years to add the 100 stores, which will include a significant number of larger-format locations with a focus on offering a wider variety of hot food, the report stated.
The restructuring is based partially on a 2006 study of the company's retail business. The goal is to strengthen Valero's company-owned store network, with a higher focus on improvements in foodservice, lighting, layout and new merchandise displays, the Journal reported.
Day declined to comment on the cost of the planned store expansion or how many employees the plan would add at the store level.
The plan will add 100 new stores in the U.S., and also cut 130 positions from its above-store-level retail staff, which is made up of 600 employees.
"Valero has enacted a profit-improvement initiative within its retail division, with a central goal to reduce overhead costs," Bill Day, spokesman for Valero, told the newspaper. "This ... is designed to help Valero be more competitive in the convenience industry and more efficient in day-to-day operations."
The 130 positions to be cut are at the regional director level, he said. As a result of the restructuring, local store managers will receive more control over their merchandise and pricing, he added.
To trim its workforce, Valero will offer its early retirement plan for eligible employees. Those who do not wish to retire will be offered other opportunities within the company or a voluntary severance, Day told the Journal.
The company expects all staffing changes to be completed by June 1.
The expansion plan will take five years to add the 100 stores, which will include a significant number of larger-format locations with a focus on offering a wider variety of hot food, the report stated.
The restructuring is based partially on a 2006 study of the company's retail business. The goal is to strengthen Valero's company-owned store network, with a higher focus on improvements in foodservice, lighting, layout and new merchandise displays, the Journal reported.
Day declined to comment on the cost of the planned store expansion or how many employees the plan would add at the store level.