Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has welcomed the Queensland government’s decision to exempt asymptomatic close contacts from isolating when they’re classified as a close contact of a COVID-19 case, allowing workers in the critical food and grocery supply chain to return to work. “This is a proportionate response to challenges faced across the food and grocery…

The head of Woolworths has worked to quell concerns about supply shortages as supermarket shelves are left bare. Bradford Banducci said customers won’t be left hungry but some concessions needed to be made due to the increased demand. “There is enough product in our supply chain to meet the needs of our customers (but) it…

The CEO of one of Australia’s largest supermarket retail chains has written to customers warning of product shortages during the current wave of the Omicron variant, which has led to high staff numbers isolating and gaps in the company’s supply chains. “Unlike the surge buying of early 2020 (who could forget the toilet paper), this…

Australia’s largest supermarket chains, Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi, have announced a vaccine mandate for all employees, encompassing around 300,000 individuals. The three grocery chains made the announcement on the same day, Oct. 21, amid a flurry of vaccine mandates issued from Australian state governments in recent days. Brad Banducci, CEO of the Woolworths Group, who…

Shelves at major supermarket chains remain empty after thousands of workers were forced into self-isolation after coming into close contact with individuals infected with COVID-19. Customers uploaded photos of Australia’s two largest supermarket chains—Coles and Woolworths—showing shelves devoid of fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, and dairy products. One Twitter user wrote, “Coles in Katoomba is looking…

Australian businesses are putting up their hands to provide public vaccinations sites to their local communities as the rollout is expected to ramp up in September. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Lieutenant-General John Frewen met with business leaders to discuss how industries could get involved in the national vaccine rollout effort. “Commonwealth GPs and hubs, and…

A new renewable energy deal has put the wind in the sails of Australia’s largest supermarket, Woolworths, promising to supply 30 percent of the food giant’s New South Wales (NSW) energy needs. The contract will see the transfer of 195,000 Megawatt-hours from Bango Wind Farm to 108 outlets in NSW—equivalent to powering 34,000 homes—every year….

Leading supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are committing to ambitious goals to fight plastic waste through a vision of ensuring all plastic packaging are recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. The two supermarket groups have joined 60 groups—including ALDI and Nestle—across the supply chain that have signed up to the ‘Australia, New Zealand and Pacific…