Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Macy’s slashing 3,900 corporate jobs
Macy’s is laying off 3,900 corporate employees and managers, or about 3% of its total workforce, marking the latest effort by the beleaguered retailer to cut costs during the coronavirus pandemic.
The nation’s largest department store chain said Thursday that it expects to save $630 million a year as a result of the layoffs, which comes just months after it announced that it would close 125 stores — about a fifth of its total — and lay off about 2,000 workers after a disappointing Christmas season. The company also is scaling back on staffing at its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, distribution facilities and customer service centers, but says it will “adjust as sales recover.”
“Covid-19 has significantly impacted our business,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said in a statement. “While the reopening of our stores is going well, we do anticipate a gradual recovery of business. … We know that we will be a smaller company for the foreseeable future.”
Macy’s has also obtained about $4.5 billion in financing that Gennette said would make it “a more stable, flexible company.”
The retail giant furloughed the majority of its 125,000 employees in mid-March, after coronavirus-related closures led to a steep decline in sales. Many of those workers are expected to return to work in July, as the company continues reopening stores across the country.
The latest round of troubles come on top of what was already a difficult time for the retailer. Annual sales fell 1.6% to $24.6 billion last year, as the company lost out to online competitors.
In February, it said it would close offices in San Francisco and Lorain, Ohio, as well as a customer service center in Tempe, Ariz., resulting in a 10% reduction of its corporate and support staff.