J.C. Penney to slash 900 jobs
J.C. Penney Co. said Thursday it will cut about 900 jobs, including roughly 600 at its headquarters, as
it trims costs and tries to start running its 110-yearold business more like a nimble startup.
The retailer, which has already overhauled its pricing strategy under new chief executive Ron Johnson, said it plans to close a customer call centre in Pittsburgh, affecting about 300 employees.
The roughly 600 workers
being let go in Plano, Texas,
represent about 15 per cent of the staff at the company’s main office.
“We are going to operate like a startup,” said John
son, a former Apple Inc.
and Target Corp. executive. “Often in business, companies must streamline in order to leap forward.”
J.C. Penney currently has
about 136,000 full- and part-time employees.
In February, Penney ended a longtime practice of marking up prices and then discounting them to entice
shoppers to buy on sale.