Macy’s / 2,500 jobs cuts

Macy’s said Wednesday it plans to lay off about 2,500 employees and close some stores as part of a cost reduction plan.

The retailer said it will combine its Midwest and North regions and reallocate within its regional divisions to streamline its operations.

Five stores are expected to be closed in the spring. None are in Illinois. Stores in Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, New York and Utah will close in the spring. But eight new and replacement Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores are in the works.

When the dust settles, Macy’s – which has corporate offices in New York and Cincinnati – will have 844 stores in its system. It expects the moves to save it about $100 million a year.

It is cutting front-end employees at some stores, although it did not specify where or how many. It will also reduce staff behind the scenes, including some merchandise planning positions and central office roles.

Beyond the 2,500 that are expected to be laid off, other associates will be given extra duties or transferred, Macy’s said. Some open positions will not be filled.

Macy’s said it will keep hiring employees in its online operations, direct-to-consumer fulfillment outfit and new stores. The company has 175,000 associates.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Macy’s cutting 2,500 jobs, closing stores to cut costs – chicagotribune.com.

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But it’s adding online jobs

Macy’s job cuts announced Wednesday are part of a reorganization effort that will save the company $100 million annually. Besides the Macy’s job cuts, it will close five stores. But Macy\’s will open eight others and add positions in online shopping.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Macy’s job cuts: 2,500 (but it’s adding online jobs) – CSMonitor.com.