Macy's To Cut 4,800 Jobs After Dismal Holiday Sales

[marmar]

Macy's is slashing jobs, a harbinger of hard times for retailers after a holiday season that saw a noticeable shift to online shopping and away from physical stores.

The nation's largest department store chain, which also operates Bloomingdale's, said late Wednesday it is cutting up to 4,800 jobs and trimming its profit outlook after a miserable holiday season.

"I think Macy's is likely to be a canary in a coal mine," said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, a retail research firm. He said retailers witnessed an acceleration of the shift toward online and mobile holiday spending in 2015.

About 2,110 of the job cuts at Macy's will come from reducing staffing at stores, eliminating duplications in back-office operations and consolidating regional store groups. The remaining 2,710 job cuts will come from the store closings that Macy's announced last fall, spokesman Jim Sluzewski said.

As of Wednesday, Macy's had about 163,000 workers. ....................(more)

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/07/462223321/macys-to-cut-4-800-jobs-after-dismal-holiday-sales

[pnwmom]

1. Trump will be taking credit for this since he called for a Macy's boycott

when they dumped his clothes line.

I made a point to buy things at Macy's this year.

But apparently most of their dip had to do with low sales of winter items, since the weather has been so mild in most places.

[RockaFowler]

12. He already did

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 13h13 hours ago
.@Macys was one of the worst performing stocks on the S&P last year, plunging 46%. Very disloyal company. Another win for Trump! Boycott.


So he is gloating that people are losing their jobs

[randys1]

2. Cant have millionaire stockholders and execs lose, so you kill off employees.

Our version of capitalism is so bad, so wrought with pain and suffering for average people, yet we do nothing about it

[Sherman A1]

3. Not surprising

The combination of mild weather and a fractured market place make this hardly a surprise. My one visit to the local mall told me that before Christmas. Not much in the way of a crowd and those there did not have much in their hands as they walked around.

[lunamagica]

4. I'm surprised at this. The Macy's at our local mall was packed during the Holidays

In fact, it is always packed.

OTOH, SEARS was almost empty, It was hard to believe both stores were at the same mall

[JI7]

21. are there many other malls/department stores near there ?

[lunamagica]

22. I can think of four other malls in the Greater Miami Area.

[enid602]

5. macys

Makes you wonder if Macys taking over all of the nation"s department stores was worth it.

[Maeve]

8. Actually, Federated took over Macys

And eliminated so many local names (Columbus had Lazarus, which arguably was the senior partner--Fred Lazarus, Jr was the one who convinced FDR to change Thanksgiving's day for a longer Christmas shopping season) They thought the Macy name was gold and switched to it all over in 2004. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy's,_Inc.

I think we lost too much in the merger.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

14. Federated ate Foley's in Houston.

[JI7]

19. the name was worth something but service/quality went down and along with that the name

[Maeve]

6. And reduced staff is part of the reason it's no longer worth the trip

Even the best merchadise won't sell if it's in total disarray, there is no staff to ask for help, there is only one register open for half a floor--height of the Xmas season and I walked by three unmanned "service desks" trying to pay for things!
There's only so far a name and "believe" signs can go....

[smirkymonkey]

7. It's a vicious circle. Poorly staffed stores make for an unpleasant shopping

experience, so people don't go back or shop on line. Fewer people in the stores causes more staff reduction and so on. This system sucks for all but the vultures who profit from it.

[Kingofalldems]

9. Says it all. There is no help at Macy's

and most other department stores. Some ass efficiency expert probably started this trend 20 years ago.

[Laurian]

10. I so agree with you!

I used to shop at Macy's frequently, but have found their stores less and less inviting the last few years. Merchandise crammed together, little aisle space to navigate and fewer and fewer customer service personnel.

Seems to me they should make an effort to improve in those areas rather than close stores.

I fondly remember the old days of shopping all day at Lazarus (in Ohio...since taken over by Macy's) and enjoying lunch in their excellent in-store dining room midway through my day. Now, it's a rat race instead of an enjoyable experience.

[Maeve]

11. Ah, downtown Lazarus!!

Coat check on the fifth floor, right next to the restrooms and the Chintz Room. Six main floors, two basements and a two-story annex with everything from exotic foods to books, toys, pets, furniture, and clothes for the whole family. And there might be "Santas" at other stores, but the REAL one was on the 6th floor of Lazarus!

http://www.wosu.org/archive/lazarus/index.php

[Laurian]

16. Yes!

Just this past Christmas, my children who are now in their forties and living in Georgia and South Carolina talked about visiting Santa at Lazarus. They fondly remember the animated windows and the Talking Tree.

Good old days, indeed.

[marmar]

13. Yep. Trying to find someone to ring up your purchase at Macy's. ...

.... is an exercise in futility.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

15. Only store with good service is Nordstrom.

That I have found. They are not cheap but at least you can get alterations. In Texas.

[JI7]

18. yes, nordstroms shows that the problem is with how macys is being run

and not external factors.

[JI7]

17. one of the biggest complaints customers have about macys is not being able to find someone to check

out what you want to buy.

and many employee complaints are that macys discourages employees from being near check out stand.

they also seem to push credit card applications more than anything else.

i don't understand how this is good for business.

[flamingdem]

20. Their clothes are b*** ugly nt