Dollar General Stock Plunges, Shareholders Vote to Review Safety Policies

It has been a rough week for Dollar General.

On Wednesday, investors of the discount retailer approved a resolution to create an independent audit of the company’s safety policies due to concerns of increased crime at store locations and millions of dollars in fines for workplace safety violations.

According to CNN, “The vote to audit the company’s practices was a rebuke to Dollar General’s leadership and a sign of growing pressure on the fast-growing retailer to improve workplace safety. Dollar General has more than 19,000 stores and 160,000 employees.”

Data from the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive showed that since 2014, there have been 49 workers and customers killed and 172 injured at Dollar General store locations.

The company is still awaiting the final results of the proposal.

Also, on Thursday, shares of Dollar General reportedly plugged nearly 20% after the retailer missed estimates on the top and bottom lines, per CNBC.

Dollar General CEO, Jeff Owen, admitted in a news release that the macroeconomic environment has “been more challenging than expected” and said the company is “controlling what we can control and have made significant progress improving our execution on multiple fronts.”