Loehmann's To Liquidate, Macy's Cuts Jobs In Reorganization

[EC]

Via NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/09/260935269/loehmanns-to-liquidate-macys-cuts-jobs-in-reorganization

Discount Retailer Loehmann's, which has been in business for more than 90 years, will begin liquidating its inventory on Thursday.

A bankruptcy court in Manhattan on Wednesday authorized three outside groups to conduct "Going Out of Business" sales for the retailer.

The company blamed its demise on decling economic conditions, intense competition from other off-price and outlet retailers as well as competition online.

Loehmann's has 93 stores in 11 states.

Macy's To Reorganize

Wednesday that it is cutting 2,500 jobs as part of a reorganization.

Other workers will be reassigned or transferred, and the company plans to add positions to online shopping and warehouses.

The Cincinnati-based retailer also announced it will close five stores. Final cleance sales will begin on Monday.

Macy's, which also operates Bloomingdale's stores, said eight new stores will be added. They are currently under construction or there are plans for them to be built.

In a news release, Macy's said the changes are expected to save the company about $100 million a year

[Rapunzel]

I used to love Loehmans... sad to ser them go.

[mountaineer]

Cincinnati.com:

Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc. announced Wednesday it will lay off 2,500 workers, fewer than 2 percent of the retailer’s total workforce nationwide. Macy’s also disclosed it will shutter five department stores – none of them in Greater Cincinnati – and open eight new locations.

Locally, the net effect of all the changes could be a slight increase in Macy’s employment. Macy’s spokesman Jim Sluzewski said only a “handful” of the 2,500 lost jobs will come from the region, and new positions are expected as a result of restructuring.

The owner of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores said the moves will save $100 million a year.

“We continue to maintain a very strong nationwide network of stores through an ongoing process of selectively adding new locations while also trimming those that no longer meet our performance requirements or where our leases were not renewed,” chief executive Terry Lundgren said.

Among the 2,500 jobs lost:

• Many of the more than 800 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores each will trim a few, undisclosed number of positions.

• Macy’s also will cut an unspecified, but possibly hundreds, of back-office and administrative jobs across the country.

• Macy’s will consolidate its Pittsburgh-based Midwest and Chicago-based North regional operations, costing Pittsburgh more than 20 positions.

• Regional restructuring also will result in the loss of more than 100 jobs nationwide.

• The retailer is eliminating district-level planners across the country who focus on soft home categories like bedding and towels, cutting almost 70 jobs.

Macy’s employs more than 4,500 in Greater Cincinnati, including 1,000 in corporate jobs Downtown and in Sharonville; 2,500 in credit card operations in Mason; and more than 1,000 at local stores.

The lost jobs and store closures come with a cost: The company said it will record a one-time charge of $120 million to $135 million for the fiscal quarter ending Feb. 1, cutting into profits.

The five stores to close are in Mesa, Ariz.; Overland Park, Kan.; Florissant, Mo.; Irondequoit, N.Y.; and Murray, Utah. Most of the stores will close within 11 weeks after clearance sales. Collectively, they employ 412 workers.

Macy’s announced it also is opening eight new stores that will create nearly 1,500 jobs. New Macy’s locations are expected to open this year in Sarasota, Fla.; Las Vegas; New York City; Miami; and Ponce, Puerto Rico. Three new Bloomingdale’s are going up in Honolulu, Miami and Palo Alto, Calif. ...