JANUARY 19, 2024 — 5 STORES AND 2,350 JOBS
Responding to activist investors, including Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, who want to assume control, the company has announced the closure of 5 stores and a 3.5% reduction in headcount, including 13% corporate staff.
The reduction in force will impact 2,350 employees.
According to a company spokesperson, “As we prepare to deploy a new strategy to meet the needs of an ever-changing consumer and marketplace, we made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 3.5% to become a more streamlined company.”
IT’S GOOD TO BE ON TOP
According to SEC filings, Macy’s gave executives $9 million in equity in restricted stock.
Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette received restricted stock worth $3.7 million. Five other executives, including legal chief Elisa Garcia and human resources chief Danielle Kirgan, received varying amounts ranging from $350,000 to $3 million.
JUNE 25, 2020 — RESTRUCTURING WILL COST 3,900 CORPORATE LAYOFFS
The company has announced that it is going forward with their restructuring and cost reduction with a reduction in force that will impact 3% of the total workforce, approximately 3,900 management and corporate employees. This represents about 25% of the corporate workforce.
A company spokesperson “announced details of a restructuring that will align its cost base with anticipated near-term sales as the business recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the closure of stores from March 18 through May 4, 2020 and gradual re-opening.”
“The company will reduce corporate and management headcount by approximately 3,900. Additionally, Macy’s, Inc. has reduced staffing across its stores portfolio, supply chain and customer support network, which it will adjust as sales recover.”
“COVID-19 has significantly impacted our business. While the re-opening of our stores is going well, we do anticipate a gradual recovery of business, and we are taking action to align our cost base with our anticipated lower sales. These were hard decisions as they impact many of our colleagues. I want to thank all of our colleagues – those who have been active and those on furlough – for helping us get through this difficult time, and I want to express my deep gratitude to the colleagues who are departing for their service and contributions. We look forward to welcoming back many of our furloughed colleagues the first week of July.”
“We know that we will be a smaller company for the foreseeable future, and our cost base will continue to reflect that moving forward. Our lower cost base combined with the approximately $4.5 billion in new financing will also make us a more stable, flexible company.”
FEBRUARY 8, 2020 — MACY’S TO CLOSE 125 STORES. LAYOFF 831 WORKERS AT MACYS.COM AND RELOCATE TECH AND HQ OPERATIONS.
In addition to closing 125 stores nationwide, the company has announced that it is laying off 831 employees at its Macys.com division in San Francisco, California and shift the technical operations to installations in Atlanta, Georgia, and New York. The layoffs will be staged between April 2020 and August 2020.
According to a company spokesperson, “After careful consideration, Macy’s offices in San Francisco will close. We believe these changes will eliminate any duplication of efforts, bringing these teams closer to our business teams and strategy.”
It is estimated that 2,000 “corporate” jobs will be affected by the store closures and shifts in corporate operations.
The company’s “Polaris” initiative will see the company transferring all corporate activities to New York City, New York and shutting down its corporate offices San Francisco, California, Lorain, Ohio. and its headquarters building in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Macy’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette noted, “We will focus our resources on the healthy parts of our business, directly address the unhealthy parts of the business and explore new revenue streams. Over the past three years, we have shown we can grow the top-line; however, we have significant work to do to improve the bottom-line. We are taking the organization through significant structural change to lower costs, bring teams closer together and reduce duplicative work. The changes we are making are deep and impact every area of the business, but they are necessary.”
Major pain for employees is on the horizon and scheduled to occur over the next three years.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 — MACY’S TO CLOSE LANDMARK SEATTLE, WASHINGTON STORE. HUNDREDS TO LOSE JOBS.
Macy’s has announced the closure of its Seattle store in February 2020 with clearance sales starting in January 2020.
According to a company spokesperson, “After careful consideration, Macy’s, Inc. has decided to sell the Downtown Seattle Macy’s building.
It appears that the decision to shutter the store and sell the building was driven by changing customer purchasing trends and the value of real estate assets exceeding operational revenue contributions to the bottom line.
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Responding to a lackluster 2018 fourth quarter that produced sluggish same-store sales, Cincinnati, Ohio-based Macy’s, the iconic department store retailer, announced a restructuring effort during their fourth quarter financial results presentation.
According to Jeff Gennette, Macy's, Inc. chairman & chief executive officer, “Macy’s is heading into 2019 a stronger business than we were a year ago - with healthier stores, a growing e-commerce business and a mobile experience that is resonating with our customers. We are executing a balanced investment strategy that supports all three of these components, with investment directed towards areas we know have the highest returns. We are also a more agile and flexible organization. The steps we are announcing to further streamline our management structure will allow us to move faster, reduce costs and be more responsive to changing customer expectations. Importantly, these changes build the foundation we need to achieve meaningful enterprise productivity improvements. These actions impact colleagues who have made strong contributions to the company over the years, and I thank them for their service.”
In addition to an estimated reduction in force of 100 senior management positions, it should come as no surprise that the the company has announced an additional reduction in force in their Systems and Technology Field Services and Operational Unit headquartered in Bay Shore, New York.
According to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) approximately 57 IT-related jobs will be eliminated and the work transitioned to NCR, which is functioning as a business process outsource vendor.
According to a company spokesperson, “We’re always looking at the best way to provide technology support to our company. Macy’s has made changes to outsource many field services organization functions. We are working closely with our external vendor to encourage impacted Macy’s colleagues to apply for the many new roles being created at as a result of this transition.”
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?