Wendy's Franchisee Cuts Employee Hours To Avoid obamacare

[Acanthus]

..... another short sighted approach. All that would do is force many of the smaller employers (especially restaurants etc) to get rid of some of their employees altogether (instead of just cutting their hours). All completely logical and to be anticipated by anyone who isn't terminally stupid like those who pushed this law.

That doesn't make sense to me. You would have less staff if it was feasible anyway.

This is similar to the Papa John's 3 cents a pizza debacle.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

What's the fuss? This is exactly what was asked for by O care supporters.

 

[Genx87]

This is the Obama economy. Higher costs and more part time employees. Does anybody find it surprising the people the liberals claim to be helping the most are the ones going to feel the most pain?

 

[highland145]

Many businesses have for years had part time workers to avoid paying benefits, including and most notably Walmart. This is nothing new. Although WM does allow their PT employees to participate in their health care insurance after working there a certain length of time. It's a shame so many businesses want to deny lower cost insurance to their employees when all they have to do is adjust the price of their goods to be able to support their employees. The losing business argument is BS.

 

[sigurros81]

That's the same kind of dumb mentality that made many idiots think these things (workers losing hours etc) would not be happening. The cost per burger/pizza/fry/whatever doesn't matter. If a business has increased costs without benefit to the business, the business will take available steps to avoid the costs if possible. Businesses like the one in this story are just doing exactly what you would expect them to do, what any rational business owner would do.

No, this is the kind of idiotic excuses companies use to fuck their employees over just to keep the company making money. By "rational business owner", you mean greedy piece of shit?

Yeah, it's easy for me sitting in my high chair to cut the hours of the uneducated mother or pimpled-face high school kid because it's easier than actually offering benefits to the workforce that is keeping my business machine running.

If having to pay an extra nickel for a burger just so people actually get the healthcare they need, I'm ok with paying that because I'm not a greedy piece of shit like some of yous.

But hey, what else is new in the greedy world of capitalism. I can increase my profit margin by buying cheap meat to put in my burger, as well as low quality produce. That's just me being a rational business owner, nothing greedy about it.

 

[GreenMeters]

Oh good, a food joint where the employees will be sick? I'll be sure to eat there.

 

[Genx87]

No, this is the kind of idiotic excuses companies use to fuck their employees over just to keep the company making money. By "rational business owner", you mean greedy piece of shit?

Yeah, it's easy for me sitting in my high chair to cut the hours of the uneducated mother or pimpled-face high school kid because it's easier than actually offering benefits to the workforce that is keeping my business machine running.

If having to pay an extra nickel for a burger just so people actually get the healthcare they need, I'm ok with paying that because I'm not a greedy piece of shit like some of yous.

Actually this is another example that people and corporations arent stupid when the govt dictates terms. They will game the system. It doesnt matter if it is tax law, subsidies, or this pile of shit. They will find ways around the law. They arent as stupid as our lawmakers believe.

 

[highland145]

No, this is the kind of idiotic excuses companies use to fuck their employees over just to keep the company making money. By "rational business owner", you mean greedy piece of shit?

Yeah, it's easy for me sitting in my high chair to cut the hours of the uneducated mother or pimpled-face high school kid because it's easier than actually offering benefits to the workforce that is keeping my business machine running.

If having to pay an extra nickel for a burger just so people actually get the healthcare they need, I'm ok with paying that because I'm not a greedy piece of shit like some of yous.

But hey, what else is new in the greedy world of capitalism. I can increase my profit margin by buying cheap meat to put in my burger, as well as low quality produce. That's just me being a rational business owner, nothing greedy about it.

Out of curiosity, do you run a business or have in the past?

 

[sigurros81]

Actually this is another example that people and corporations arent stupid when the govt dictates terms. They will game the system. It doesnt matter if it is tax law, subsidies, or this pile of shit. They will find ways around the law. They arent as stupid as our lawmakers believe.

So what else is new?

 

[Genx87]

So what else is new?

So knowing this why waste our time subjecting them to such horseshit? In some of these cases the results are catastrophic. A person working at a fast food joint getting their hours cut will be put in financial distress rather easily.

 

[GreenMeters]

If the previous total man-hours were needed to meet demand, but now employees' hours are being cut due to Obamacare, then the franchise must be hiring more people to fill in the missing time. Maybe that's still a net positive for the community.

Alternatively, demand at that franchise is down, the way demand is down across basically all sectors of the economy, and fewer man-hours are needed. The employer needed to reduce hours to match the lower demand, but decided to be an asshole and try to score some political points in the process by pretending it was Obamacare's fault.

 

[PokerGuy]

The pursuit of cheap labor more than any other factor that has driven this country's economic decline. Wendy's will price themselves out of the labor market, blaming everyone but their own greed.

The pursuit of cheap labor is no different than he pursuit of any other form of cost savings to the business. It's not up to the business to pay more for labor than they have to. That would be irrational and illogical.

That doesn't make sense to me. You would have less staff if it was feasible anyway.

This is similar to the Papa John's 3 cents a pizza debacle.

It makes perfect sense. Prior to the cost increases, the business figured out that given the cost of labor X, the optimal number of employees was Y. Now that X has been increased by obamacare, the equilibrium will shift, as we are already seeing. Those who believed this would not happen are either willfully ignorant of reality (ie, political hacks), or terminally stupid.

No, this is the kind of idiotic excuses companies use to f*ck their employees over just to keep the company making money. By "rational business owner", you mean greedy piece of sh*t?

Sorry, you seemed to have a flawed conceptual understanding of how the world works. The business is not there for the betterment of society or to benefit the employees, it's there to make money, to maximize profit. Pure and simple. That's not to say those other things are not important, but they are not the priority of the business.

Yeah, it's easy for me sitting in my high chair to cut the hours of the uneducated mother or pimpled-face high school kid because it's easier than actually offering benefits to the workforce that is keeping my business machine running.

If having to pay an extra nickel for a burger just so people actually get the healthcare they need, I'm ok with paying that because I'm not a greedy piece of sh*t like some of yous.

Again, you don't grasp how the world works. Your competitors will take the steps needed to avoid unneeded costs, and if you don't, you will ultimately get buried and destroyed. Decisions made in DC should be made in full realization of this fact, but delusional idiots want to put ideology before reality.

But hey, what else is new in the greedy world of capitalism. I can increase my profit margin by buying cheap meat to put in my burger, as well as low quality produce. That's just me being a rational business owner, nothing greedy about it.

Yes, that's exactly how it works. And if you think customers will pay more for your burger with better meat and produce, you create a company to supply that need and you'll make a profit as well.

How you get to the profit (your business model) can vary quite a bit, there are many ways to do things, but assuming unneeded expenses is simply not a winning strategy.

You (and those like you) want to place the blame on the business owners for not being altruistic, when in fact they are just playing by the rules that have been dictated to them. The fault lies with those creating the rules, not those playing by them.

 

[PokerGuy]

Out of curiosity, do you run a business or have in the past?

There's no way someone who thinks like he does has ever run a successful business.

 

[Genx87]

If the previous total man-hours were needed to meet demand, but now employees' hours are being cut due to Obamacare, then the franchise must be hiring more people to fill in the missing time. Maybe that's still a net positive for the community.

Alternatively, demand at that franchise is down, the way demand is down across basically all sectors of the economy, and fewer man-hours are needed. The employer needed to reduce hours to match the lower demand, but decided to be an asshole and try to score some political points in the process by pretending it was Obamacare's fault.

Bank on it. I have also heard the amount of corporations with 49 employees has grown quite substantially in the last 2 years. Imagine that!

 

[sm625]

obamacare was suppose to "help" these people

The flaw in your reasoning originates here. Obamacare was never about helping anyone, except the major pharmaceutical companies. It is just another backdoor tax on the consumer, the same as 20% expanding tuitions, $4 a gallon milk, $4 a gallon gas, and $3 a dozen eggs. It's a multibillion dollar industry to fool the idiot masses into "change they can believe in". They spend billions to fool the dumbed down masses, then they make back hundreds of billions. And the vast majority of the dumbed down masses that voted for obama/obomney still frickin buy their bull. No matter what history reveals, they just dont care any more than the gun grabbers dont care about the crime rates in Kennesaw. They just dont... frickin... care....

 

[Darwin333]

Many businesses have for years had part time workers to avoid paying benefits, including and most notably Walmart. This is nothing new. Although WM does allow their PT employees to participate in their health care insurance after working there a certain length of time. It's a shame so many businesses want to deny lower cost insurance to their employees when all they have to do is adjust the price of their goods to be able to support their employees. The losing business argument is BS.

If they had the ability to "adjust the price of their goods" increasing their profits they would have already. Do you really think that the average fast food customer gives two shits if the idiot who fucks up their order is getting health insurance or not? Hell no, they will simply adjust who they get their goods from.

 

[Incorruptible]

The flaw in your reasoning originates here. Obamacare was never about helping anyone, except the major pharmaceutical companies. It is just another backdoor tax on the consumer, the same as 20% expanding tuitions, $4 a gallon milk, $4 a gallon gas, and $3 a dozen eggs. It's a multibillion dollar industry to fool the idiot masses into "change they can believe in". They spend billions to fool the dumbed down masses, then they make back hundreds of billions. And the vast majority of the dumbed down masses that voted for obama/obomney still frickin buy their bull. No matter what history reveals, they just dont care any more than the gun grabbers dont care about the crime rates in Kennesaw. They just dont... frickin... care....

There was no flaw in my reasoning, by forcing people to get health insurance it helps big Pharma since obama is a corporatist.

I was just making fun of obama and his supporters since many of them actually believe that crap.

 

[soundforbjt]

They could but I bet they don't. They don't have to.

Wendy's can't absorb it and if they raise their prices, they'll lose business and then they'll be out of business. Along with a ton of unemployed. McD's, etc., will pick up the extra business with about the same # of employees. Profit........stock pick of the day?

Then why not do like big oil and all raise their prices together? The public "accepts" it for oil prices, etc.

 

[highland145]

Then why not do like big oil and all raise their prices together? The public "accepts" it for oil prices, etc.

Because McD's doesn't have to nor do they have any incentive to.

 

[dmcowen674]

What's the fuss?

This is exactly what was asked for by O care supporters.

Nothing wrong with this at all.

Sounds like they will have a very hard time retaining staff.

Then they will go out of business as they should.

 

[Incorruptible]

Nothing wrong with this at all.

Sounds like they will have a very hard time retaining staff.

Then they will go out of business as they should.

And what about all those employees? Those poor employees are out of a job and they are the ones who are hurt not the owners who would still be well off

 

[ivwshane]

Businesses shouldn't be providing healthcare. It creates an uncompetitive job market. People are not as free to work where they want because they will lose their healthcare or their benefits will change. It puts all the power into the hands of big business, the small businesses can't compete for quality workers.

The single best thing this country could do that would help everyone is to have a single payer nationalized healthcare system. Of course that won't happen because the anti socialism morons put their ideology first before their country.

 

[highland145]

Businesses shouldn't be providing healthcare. It creates an uncompetitive job market. People are not as free to work where they want because they will lose their healthcare or their benefits will change. It puts all the power into the hands of big business, the small businesses can't compete for quality workers.

I think the big businesses will go with their stock holder's desire to make more $$ and just pay the fine instead of providing health care.

We'll see.

 

[DCal430]

I think the big businesses will go with their stock holder's desire to make more $$ and just pay the fine instead of providing health care.

We'll see.

Actually they will be forced to pay for the healthcare, the employees will obtain healthcare from the exchanges, and the government will bill the employers for the cost of the healthcare.

 

[highland145]

Actually they will be forced to pay for the healthcare, the employees will obtain healthcare from the exchanges, and the government will bill the employers for the cost of the healthcare.

Maybe. If it's cheaper for the corp, even though it's crappy coverage, I expect they'll go that way.