Macy's to restructure merchandising unit, cut 100 jobs

Department store chain Macy's Inc said on Monday it would restructure its merchandising operations, which could result in about 100 job cuts.

The company said it expected one-time costs of about $20 million to $25 million mainly in the third quarter, and that it would save about $30 million on a yearly basis. Macy's forecast fourth-quarter savings of about 1 cent per share.
Macy's also named former eBay Inc executive Hal Lawton as president, effective Sept. 8.

The restructuring will merge three units – merchandising, planning and private brands – into one division, which will be led by Chief Stores Officer Jeff Kantor.

Macy's said the changes would strengthen data analytics and how it manages inventory and pricing.

The company, like several other department stores struggling to cope with reduced customer traffic and competition from e-commerce company Amazon.com Inc, has promised to better control inventory levels that have been pressuring margins.

"The changes we are making today maintain our core merchandising skills while massively simplifying our structure and processes for greater speed and flexibility," Chief Executive Jeff Gennette said in a statement.