Best Buy Slashes 2,400 Jobs (BBY)
Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY), the struggling electronics retailer, has announced that it is slashing 2,40o jobs or 1.4% of its total workforce. The company announced the latest round of job cuts as it looks to cut costs amid increased competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).
The Richfield, Minnesota-based retailer said that it would layoff 600 workers from its 20,000-person Geek Squad service and repair unit. The remaining jobs will be from its store staff.
Best Buy said that changes were previously announced as part of the leadership team’s ongoing turnaround plan. The retailer notified employees about the layoffs this week.
The layoffs come a few months after the company announced that it is closing 50 of its big-box stores and slashing 400 corporate and support jobs. The layoffs and store shut down are part of the company’s plan to reduce costs. The company is targeting $800 million in planned cost reductions by fiscal 2015.
Best Buy has struggled in the recent past due to increasing competition from online retailers. The retailer posted a loss in its fourth quarter as comparable sales fell during the crucial holiday season.
Best Buy has not just been struggling on the operations front though. Recently, Brian Dunn resigned as CEO after allegations of a personal relationship with a female employee. The company’s founder, Richard Schulze, also resigned as Chairman last month. It has been reported that Schulze, who has a significant stake in the company, is looking to buyout the company.
Best Buy shares ended marginally lower on Friday. The stock ended the day 0.69% lower at $21.59 on volume of 8 million. Year-to-date, the stock fell 7.62%, underperforming the broad market.
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Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
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