NEW YORK – Macy’s Inc. will pancake management layers as part of its plan to lay off 3.5% of its total workforce on Jan. 26.
The cuts will include canning roughly 13% of corporate staff as part of the 2,350 positions being eliminated, according to the Wall Street Journal. An unnamed source told the WSJ that Macy’s Inc. will steer investments toward adding more visual display managers to spruce up stores and upgrading websites to improve the online shopping experience.
A memo to employees said the changes are designed to “both better meet [customer] expectations and to generate consistent growth.”
The company will also shutter five mall stores and sell the properties of two furniture stores that are being relocated. The stores being closed are located at Ballston Quarter, Arlington, Va.; Bayfair Center, San Leandro, Calif.; Kukui Grove Center, Lihue, Hawaii; Simi Valley Town Center, Simi Valley, Calif.; and Governor’s Square, Tallahassee, Fla.
The WSJ story did not identify the locations of the furniture store sites.
“Despite our strong and tangible progress over the past few years, we remain under pressure,” out-going CEO Jeff Gennette and CEO-elect Tony Spring wrote in the memo, according to the WSJ.
For the first nine months of its current fiscal year, ended Oct. 28, net sales were down 7.4% to $14.97 billion, with operating income down 57% and net income tumbling 73%.
However, when Macy’s Inc. reported its Q3 results in mid-November, the company raised its full-year guidance. The company said it expected full-year revenue to land between $22.9 billion and $23.2 billion, up from its previous forecast of $22.8 billion to $23.2 billion.
Last month, the company reportedly received a $5.8 billion buyout offer from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management. Macy’s Inc. has not discussed the offer publicly.
The company is expected to announce its fourth quarter and full-year results next month.