CINCINNATI — Macy’s said Wednesday that it will cut about 2,300 management jobs as the department-store operator consolidates three regional divisions and decentralizes buying in a bid to reduce costs and boost sales.
The announcement came as Macy’s separately reported a steeper-than-expected drop in sales in January at established stores and that earnings in its fiscal year would be below Wall Street estimates.
Cincinnati-based Macy’s has struggled with disappointing sales and resistance from shoppers in some markets where it replaced local favorites it absorbed when it acquired May Department Stores Co.
Macy’s entered the Denver market in 2006, replacing Foley’s, which was owned by May. It converted 11 locations and added a few new stores. Company executives did not return calls from The Denver Post.
Macy’s said it will consolidate its Minneapolis-based Macy’s North headquarters into its New York-based Macy’s East; its St. Louis-based Macy’s Midwest organization into its Atlanta-based Macy’s South; and its Seattle-based Macy’s Northwest headquarters into its San Francisco-based Macy’s West. Colorado is part of the Macy’s West region.
The consolidation will affect 950 positions at Macy’s North, 850 at Macy’s Midwest and 750 at Macy’s Northwest.
At the same time, Macy’s said it planned to add 250 new management positions at its stores to better tailor its product offerings to specific regions. The net effect would be a reduction of 2,300 jobs in Macy’s current workforce of about 188,000.
