SuperMax to temporarily hire 150 Red Lobster, Sizzler employees
Two local companies have reached a significant agreement that will benefit 150 employees currently out-of-work because of the islandwide lockdown.
In a statement, the management of local supermarket chain SuperMax and Grupo Colón-Gerena, operator of the Red Lobster and Sizzler in Puerto Rico have partnered to safeguard the restaurant employees by relocating them to supermarket operations.
Due to the temporary closure of the two Red Lobster restaurants and the 14 Sizzler locations in Puerto Rico given the limitations to offer services while of Gov. Wanda Vázquez’s Executive Order mandating a lockdown and 24/7 curfew, SuperMax will temporarily hire — and for the duration of the emergency — more than 150 employees of the restaurants.
The initiative “will help minimize the economic impact that this situation has had on the island, while allowing the supermarket chain to maintain its quality standard, which has seen an increase in purchases due to the demand for services that has arisen in recent days,” company officials said in a statement.
“This collaboration reflects the values of both companies and the importance they place on their communities,” they said.
“With this agreement, we were able to temporarily hire additional trained personnel with a high level of commitment, while collaborating by employing more people during these moments of crisis,” said José Revuelta, president of SuperMax.
Meanwhile, Jorge Colón-Gerena, CEO of Grupo Colón Gerena, said “emergencies and crises not only unite neighbors and communities, they also unite members of the business ecosystem in solidarity to overcome obstacles.”
“Beyond doing what is responsible and necessary to temporarily close the restaurants, we entered into an agreement with SuperMax to give our employees a helping hand in these challenging times,” he said.
Red Lobster and Sizzler restaurant employees will be able to perform a variety of tasks, including cashiers and service representatives for SuperMax and customer service representatives and pickers for the SuperMax Online division. Shifts available are daytime and full-time. The available slots are in all stores, mainly in the San Juan metro and north areas.
The Colón-Gerena Group’s human resources department will provide SuperMax’s contact information to its employees, so those who are voluntarily interested in temporarily relocating to the supermarket may do so, the company said in a release.
