US store chain J C Penney to axe 350 jobs from Texas headquarters
11 Jul 2012
J C Penney Co. is axing 350 jobs at it Texas headquarters, as the US department store chain struggles with restructuring under its new CEO Ron Johnson, a former Apple Inc. executive.
The latest round of layoffs come after Penney reduced its headquarters workforce by nearly 600 workers or 30 per cent, to 3,100 employees, since April. It had also eliminated 300 jobs at its Pittsburgh customer call centre it closed on 1 July.
The job cuts are part of the company's January plan to reduce expenses by $900 million over the first two years, which includes$200 million from its headquarters, $400 million from store operations and $300 million from advertising costs.
"One of the most challenging tasks for any leadership team is to reorganise a company," said Johnson in a statement. "In April, we began right-sizing our headquarters from a people perspective to align our teams with jcpenney's new business model. The actions taken today mark the final phase of those efforts."
"We have simplified processes, removed unnecessary work and reduced layers to help us make better and faster decisions. While difficult, these decisions are in the long-term interests of jcp and our stakeholders," he added.
Founded over 110 years ago by James Cash Penney, the chain has 1,100 stores across the US.
