Macy’s eliminated thousands of jobs this week in another sign of the retail sector’s struggles, as companies work to emerge from the coronavirus lockdowns.
The department store chain cut about 3,900 corporate and management jobs, which is expected to save $365 million this year and $630 million a year going forward, according to Bloomberg. The move came as it has also been reopening hundreds of locations across the country.
“We know that we will be a smaller company for the foreseeable future, and our cost base will continue to reflect that moving forward,” CEO Jeff Gennette said, according to the report.
Retail — particularly brick-and-mortar stores — has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Macy’s closed all of its locations on March 18 and furloughed most of its employees that month. But even before stay-at-home orders kept shoppers home, retail had been battered by changing consumer habits, namely the shift to online buying.
As lockdown orders lifted, Macy’s announced plans for all of its 775 stores to reopen. It also reported stronger sales than expected — although its performance still lagged far behind last year. Macy’s reported a preliminary loss of $652 million for the three months ending on May 2, compared to a $136 million profit during the same period in 2019. Before making that announcement, the retailer said it had secured a new $4.5 billion financing package to help with debt obligations and operating costs. [Bloomberg] — Georgia Kromrei