Layoffs across the retail industry are accelerating. In just the latest round, Lord & Taylor let go of 170 people on Friday. But more cuts could come soon at L&T as a result of a broad consolidation strategy being formulated by the company's parent, NRDC Equity Partners, involving combining back office functions to save costs and gain efficiencies. NRDC also owns Fortunoff and Creative Design Studios, and in Canada, The Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Fields.At Lord & Taylor, sources said the job cuts were across the board through the chain and were in addition to the store’s 120 layoffs that occurred last October. Combined, the 290 positions represent about 3.5 percent of the chain’s total workforce of 9,000.
In the midst of the deepening recession, job cuts have become standard procedure at many retail companies. Earlier this week, Neiman Marcus announced 375 job cuts, representing about 3 percent of its workforce.
Even more dramatic was the announcement Thursday at Saks Fifth Avenue that 1,100 jobs at stores and headquarters, or 9 percent of its workforce, is being eliminated. Some of Saks’ more visible figures are departing in the wave of layoffs, including Michael Fink, vice president and women’s fashion director, who’s been a regular at the designer shows, a frequent participant in industry forums and widely quoted in the fashion media.
Also leaving Saks is Leslie Langsam Kennedy, the director of public relations; Gina Giordano, senior vice president and regional director of Saks stores in the Northeast, and Jan Richter, the creative director, who also held the title of senior vice president.
A Saks spokeswoman confirmed the departures and said their duties are being reassigned.
Many Saks sales associates are being let go because the stores are considered overstaffed in light of the dwindling shopping traffic and declining number of transactions in the last several months.
Saks is also cutting inventories and capital expenditures and eliminating merit-based wage increases and 401 [k] matching contributions this year. The company expects to save $50 to $60 million as a result of all the cutbacks.
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2 comments:
lord and taylor is awful. they asked those that stayed on board after october to double the work load but not the salary. all those that did that and worked without compensation for extra hours over the holiday were layed off. employees who were doing their bosses work while they were out on maternity leave were let go.
unreal dont shop at l&t!!!!!!
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