Affected stores include a clearance outlet in Austell, a smaller pilot store in Wilson, NC and a temporary hurricane recovery outlet in Waveland, MS. No full-scale stores are being affected and the layoffs represent less than 1% of Home Depot's entire 300,000-member work force, according to various reports.
Frank Blake, Home Depot chairman and CEO, says the move is aimed at greater efficiency in operations. The company, which has 2,245 stores worldwide, has managed to stabilize profit year over year despite recession-related revenue declines.
"This is not a case of the company cutting expenses in reaction to broader economic pressures or our business performance," Blake stated in an employee memo issued midday Tuesday. "We are making prudent structural changes where it makes business sense to consolidate some functions."
Analysts following Home Depot say the move toward efficiency makes sense as its business model evolves. If you're opening fewer stores, can you streamline real estate and construction functions? Absolutely," Wayne Hood of BMO Capital Markets told the Associated Press.
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