BREAKING NEWS: Twitter Erupts As Harvey Norman Blasted Over JobKeeper & Salaries
Harvey Norman is trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons, after it moved to block consumers and MPs following comments over the pocketing of millions of dollars of JobKeeper payments and demands by its staff for pay rises.
Twitter over the past few days has exploded with thousands of consumers, many of them former customers expressing their anger at the retailer, which failed to pay back over $22 million in Australian JobKeeper payments and $12m it got out of the New Zealand Government despite reporting record profits during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The #boycottharveynorman tag is trending in Australia.
I’ve also been blocked by Harvey Norman which is odd because I’ve never interacted with the account in any way (not that I care; anyone can block who they want). Last week though I did say I regretted having attended the Magic Millions. Maybe Gerry runs this account himself?? pic.twitter.com/a2YDIkjLNO
— Martin Pakula (@MartinPakulaMP) May 30, 2021
Could be time to send Gerry Harvey a message. Boycott the stores, there's plenty of alternatives,. I remember when peta stopped the farmers from mulesing.
— Burrakooka (@burrakooka) May 30, 2021
https://twitter.com/HarveyNormanAU/status/1398649305779499010
https://twitter.com/BroccoliniBaby/status/1398935710242017282
I was blocked by Harvey Norman and I didn’t even tweet about the (entirely justified) wage protests. But for the record, Harvey Norman should raise their store employees’ wages.
— Erin Riley (@erinrileyau) May 30, 2021
https://twitter.com/unionsaustralia/status/1398078185682526210
Anyway we'd like now to announce a competition!
$100 prize for the best Harvey Norman or Gerry Harvey satirical cartoon, caricature or meme.
Please submit as attachment by DM. All the best ones and the winner of course will be published on TT.
Have at it! #auspol pic.twitter.com/5QrxllZrXP— Tasmanian Times (@TasmanianTimes) May 29, 2021
It was a matter of time pic.twitter.com/SmAFPByXYc
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) May 30, 2021
Harvey Norman is the perfect place to shop if you don’t mind paying a bit more to ensure your money goes to a miserable old prick.
— Tosh Greenslade (@ToshGreenslade) May 29, 2021
Targeted are directors who are paid millions of dollars every year to run the business as well as billionaire owner Gerry Harvey and his wife CEO Katie Page.
The furniture, electrical and whitegoods retailer reported that first-half sales climbed 25 per cent and contributed to a net profit after tax of $462.03m for the last six months of 2020 – up 116 per cent on the same time period in the previous year.
Harvey Norman said it would pay dividends totalling $249m, of which Harvey himself is set to receive $78m due to his 31.4 per cent shareholding in the company.
Harvey Norman have not said why it is blocking customer comments, with many claiming they are going to shop at JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys instead.
Jake Nelson contributed to this story.
