Kohl’s will eliminate 250 corporate positions in a company restructuring aimed at improving efficiency, according to reporting in the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal. The layoffs will affect workers at the retailer’s Menomonee Falls, Wis. headquarters as well as offices in New York, California and other regions.
“The departures include removing a layer of regional store leadership roles and positions, restructuring teams in our merchant organization and changes to other positions in our corporate offices,” said Jen Johnson, SVP of Communications at Kohl’s in a statement. “This reorganization in our business will empower decision-making, reduce management layers, streamline communications and drive greater efficiency in many areas of our business.”
Kohl’s made the announcement after a challenging 2019 holiday season that resulted in a 0.2% sales decline in November and December. The company doesn’t plan on closing any stores and will continue making hires in key areas, as well as investing in its stores, technology and strategic growth initiatives.
These investments may build on a turnaround effort involving multiple partnerships, including:
Advertisement
- Opening Planet Fitness locations inside its stores;
- Working with Facebook to curate a collection of products from brands with large social media followings; and
- Accepting Amazon returns chainwide.
While Kohl’s holiday results were disappointing, these initiatives may be starting to pay off : the company reported a 0.4% comparable sales increase in Q3 2019.
