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Food

New York Bodegas Are Running Out of Fritos and Funyuns, Report Says

Frito-Lay, however, claimed that reports of a snack deficit are overblown.
Photo via Flickr user Paul Martin

It’s hard out there for Frito-Lay truck drivers in New York, who fell victim to a 33 percent pay cut last August. They now receive a salary so paltry compared to what they got before that there's been something of a domino effect within the company's ranks, a report in the New York Post alleged on Monday, with "dozens" of New York City drivers quitting in recent months.

Those pay cuts reportedly threw the company’s drivers into such a financial tailspin that some have now begun relying on side gigs—say, driving for ride-sharing apps on weekends—to make ends meet.

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With fewer workers to drive those routes, there’s no way corner delis can get their supply of Doritos and Fritos the traditional way, which is by truck. (It should be noted that some bodegas can opt in to Snacks to You, an online delivery service that Frito-Lay began implementing last year.) The Post claims that labor shortage has led to a deficit of Frito-Lay products that once lined the shelves of New York bodegas. It's a "massive shortage," in the words of the Post.

Frito-Lay's pay cuts are the result of the company's decision to adhere to a more rigid salary structure aimed at increasing pay equity across the sale associate tier of the company, the Post explains. This has resulted in salaries reportedly being slashed for drivers in New York from $90,000 to $60,000, while commissions that drivers once routinely received as incentives for good work have also been reduced or abolished altogether.

When reached for comment by MUNCHIES on Monday, though, Frito-Lay disputed that New York is facing anything resembling a shortage of its snacks in bodegas, dismissing the Post's claims as overblown.

“We have the city of New York's snacks ready to go,” a Frito-Lay spokesperson wrote MUNCHIES over email on Monday. “All sales routes are running as planned over the course of the week. As usual, we work with retailers to address any service needs.” The spokesperson declined to elaborate further on the record.

Well, if your local corner deli doesn't have its usual inventory of Fritos and Funyuns, maybe that Bodega startup will have some!