Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Macy’s to Cut Costs, Jobs
January 7,
2016 by in Business Strategy, Industry 
On the heels of a disappointing holiday season, department store Macy’s (NYSE: M) will eliminate 4,500 positions and close 36 stores this year under a plan to turn around the company.
Wednesday’s announcement cited a need for more efficiency and productivity. The retailer will make cuts across its stores, offices and a call center. The 36 stores slated for closure are in addition to four locations closed last year.
Sales at existing stores in November and December dropped 4.7 percent, and the retailer said it expects the slide to continue this month.
Under the plan, about 3,000 associates will be affected, some of whom will be reassigned in other positions. Six hundred back-office positions will be impacted with 150 employees being reassigned. The company has also implemented a voluntary separation option for 165 senior Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s central stores, office and support staff who meet certain age and service requirements. About 35 percent of those posts will not be replaced.
A call center in St. Louis will be closed in the spring with the work load divided among credit and customer service centers in Tempe, Ariz., Clearwater, Fla., and Mason, Ohio.
The cuts are expected to generate savings of about $400 million this year. Macy’s anticipates posting $200 million in restructuring costs to its fourth quarter of 2015.