Albert Heijn could take over scrapped Delhaize locations

Representatives of Delhaize staff are due to meet prime minister Elio Di Rupo today to discuss the company’s announcement of 2,500 jobs losses and the closure of 14 stores across Belgium.

Meanwhile, Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn (AH) opened a new location in Bruges yesterday, the 21st in Flanders, amid talk that they could take over some of the Delhaize outlets. Delhaize plans to close eight stores in Flanders, including in Genk, Kortrijk and Turnhout.

“We’re always on the lookout for locations,” said AH spokesperson Sally Herygers. The supermarket chain, the biggest in the Netherlands, opened its first store in Belgium in 2011. It now has 21 stores across Flanders, including Antwerp, Turnhout, Lier, Sint-Truiden, Kortrijk, Ghent and Aalst. The company employs 1,370 people. According to the company, the stores “always perform beyond expectations”.

Meanwhile, Alvo, the organisation for independent supermarket owners, has said it can provide a takeover candidate for all of the stores Delhaize wants to close. Alvo is also interested in the eight stores in Flanders, according to director-general Etienne Vanbosseghem. “We are always looking for opportunities to increase our growth. But let’s be clear: we’re not interested in taking over the Delhaize stores. But we do have a number of interested independent operators for them, which are members of Alvo.”

Whether taken over by Alvo or Albert Heijn, the consequences for Delhaize staff are likely to be the same: the loss of the preferential pay and conditions they have built up over the years. Delhaize management intends to wipe out a difference of between 15% and 30% between what staff cost to Delhaize and what they cost to its competitors.

Even if all the threatened stores remain open under new management, the staff there will, like those who carry on working for Delhaize, find themselves stripped of many of their previous benefits.

Yesterday Delhaize staff continued their protests across Belgium, with 47 stores closing in the course of the day and actions carried out to disrupt the company’s distribution centre in Zellik. Unions claimed the delivery of fruit and vegetables was disrupted; the company said the actions had “minimal impact”.