Bergdorf Goodman workers claim majority of cash – Business News
Bergdorf Goodman retail workers claim mother or father company Saks Global is inexplicably withholding tons of of {dollars} from their weekly paychecks.
Nearly two dozen workers on the high-end Manhattan division store have seen swaths of unexplained deductions – up to 75% – from their paychecks since Jan. 1, in accordance with interviews with workers and a Post evaluation of paystubs and inside emails.
Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety Jan. 13 – practically two weeks after the cash conundrum started.
Multiple retail workers at Midtown’s Bergdorf Goodman store allege mother or father company Saks Global has inexplicably withheld tons of of {dollars}’ value of pay from every paycheck for more than a month. AFP through Getty Images
Management assured workers the payroll difficulty was being investigated and that they have been “working toward a solution,” in accordance with a Jan. 28 electronic mail reviewed by The Post.
But a Saks Global rep instructed The Post this week, “there were no systemic errors related to payroll tax withholdings or benefits deductions” since Jan. 1.
“It is common for net pay to vary at the start of the calendar year due to routine factors such as annual resets to Social Security contributions, 401(k) limits, and benefit deductions,” the rep mentioned.
An affected employee, who spoke on the situation of anonymity out of worry of retaliation, mentioned the mathematics didn’t add up.
“There’s no way the government is taking 75% out of [my] paycheck,” the worker mentioned. “People have bills, people have to move, buy groceries, and [some] are getting $400 a week?”
Nearly two dozen workers beneath the mother or father company have expressed the identical difficulty since Jan. 1, in accordance with interviews with workers and a Post evaluation of inside complaints. REUTERS
The similar employee added: “There are coworkers of mine that may’t pay their rent or people can’t buy lunch.
“It’s so irresponsible … not to [provide] answers.”
Paystubs reviewed by The Post confirmed upwards of 40 to 64% of yearly earnings to this point inexplicably withheld from workers.
Sellers working the ground of Bergdorf Goodman’s Manhattan store are paid commission for slinging luxurious merchandise, and paychecks are more likely to fluctuate month-to-month, workers defined.
But a longtime employee asserted they earned tons of of {dollars} much less than what’s paid out for a typical “slow January” – and that tax deductions and different withholdings have traditionally hovered round simply 30%.
“There are coworkers of mine that can’t pay their rent, or people can’t buy lunch,” one luxurious items vendor mentioned. REUTERS
“You can’t really explain to your landlord any of this,” famous the worker, who claimed their weekly paycheck had over 60% of earnings inexplicably withheld.
Another worker mentioned promoting has turn into even more durable attributable to Saks Global’s ongoing financial woes, claiming Bergdorf Goodman in Midtown hasn’t acquired a cargo of new gadgets since final yr.
As the Midtown store has gone an “entire fourth quarter without new shipments,” workers have reported a dramatic fall in gross sales.
“I’m down [in commissions] over 50%,” one employee mentioned.
Saks had struggled to pay its distributors for over a yr after it acquired Neiman Marcus in 2024, Retail Drive first reported. Last February, then-CEO Marc Metrick talked about an 18-month backlog in unpaid invoices.
But that also doesn’t clarify the majority of paychecks apparently going towards “deductions,” workers mentioned — or a full discrepancy in pay even amongst different workers promoting the identical quantity of product.
In one occasion, two workers mentioned they bought the identical quantity one week in January, however one paycheck was more than $1,500, and one other worker solely took home much less than $1,000.
As the Midtown store has gone an “entire fourth quarter without new shipments,” workers have reported a dramatic fall in gross sales. AFP through Getty Images
The similar employee reported a weird occasion of their tax paperwork being edited by an “unauthorized user” in a new payroll system the company started utilizing this yr – which falsely modified their New York City residence standing.
Saks denied any worker or company information being accessed by unauthorized customers as of the Jan. 1 new system rollout, “and there were no system errors.”
The roughly two dozen Bergdorf Goodman workers affected by the alleged payroll deductions, nevertheless, are nonetheless in search of solutions.
“It’s lack of transparency and honestly lack of respect for the employees, and as extension, for the customer,” one employee mentioned.
“Retail workers are the people who pay the bills and also the people with the least power,” they added.
“It’s completely unacceptable.”
