Nordstrom wants to become more efficient in its operations, but it will cost the job of up to 400 workers for the company to achieve its objective. The planned job cuts will be mostly form the company's Seattle corporate headquarters.
"All of our headquarter divisions are taking a close look," said Tara Darrow, a spokesperson for Nordstrom.
The corporate divisions that will be affected by the job cuts include finance, marketing, merchandising and legal. According to Darrow, the jobs of those in the sales floor will not be touched.
"Approximately 350 to 400 positions will be reduced through a phased approach," a news release from the company said. "These positions will primarily be in its corporate center and regional support teams, and the process should be completed by the end of the second quarter," the news release added.
These job cuts come at a time when shoppers are increasingly doing most of their shopping online. The Seattle-based upscale department store said that the process of cost-cutting should be completed at the end of its fiscal second quarter.
With this cost-cutting measure, Nordstrom hopes to save $60 million for its current fiscal year.
The high-end retailer disclosed that the company is looking initially at shutting down unified open positions to mitigate the impact of job cuts to its current employees. As the company tries to integrate its online services with its physical outlets, it finds such moves vital in enhancing its supply network.
It is not just Nordstrom that is resorting to this cost-cutting process. Macy's and Walmart were the first large retailers to adapt such measures.
The nearly 400 positions that will be slashed represent around 6 percent of the company's total workforce which is about 7,000. They are connected with corporate divisions, not necessarily with the Seattle operations. Nordstrom has a total of over 70,000 workers in its employ.
