Home Depot Makes Efficiency Moves

ATLANTA-The Home Depot Inc. is closing three underperforming stores as part of a companywide cutting of 1,000 jobs, including 150 at its local headquarters. The leading do-it-yourself home improvement and construction chain plans to consolidate some of its support functions, namely human resources and finance.

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.