Macy’s, an iconic US department store, announced on Thursday that it will reduce its workforce by approximately 3.5 percent — equivalent to around 2,350 jobs — as the retailer seeks to cut costs and revive flagging sales. This comes alongside plans to shutter five of the brand’s department stores in Arlington, Virginia; San Leandro, California; Lihue, Hawaii; Simi Valley, California; and Tallahassee, Florida this year. Affected employees were also notified of the layoffs on Thursday, with the last day for those impacted being January 26.
Internal changes at the company’s leadership level are also on the horizon. Current Bloomingdale’s CEO, Tony Spring, is set to assume the CEO role at Macy’s in early February, replacing outgoing CEO Jeff Gennette. This comes as the company anticipates reporting its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings in late February. As of October 28, Macy’s has 723 locations nationwide, which includes about 500 namesake stores, 158 Bluemercury stores, and 56 Bloomingdale’s stores.
The sluggish American economy under President Joe Biden has hit the retail sector especially hard. Polling over recent months has shown voters continue to disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. Even traditional Democrat constituencies have soured on what the Biden White House has dubbed “Bidenomics.”
