Management
October 26, 2015 at 11:02 am
J.C. Penney laid off 300 of its 3,400 headquarters employees in Plano, Texas on Thursday. The 9 percent reduction is part of an ongoing effort to cut costs as Penney tries to become profitable again. CEO Marvin Ellison has been saying since he assumed the top job at Penney in August that he's reviewing the organization and…
October 23, 2015 at 1:28 pm
No matter the business, having the right people is critical to its success (or failure). For Kroger, a national supermarket chain with a workforce of 400,000, that's easier said than done. In a brief TED Talks-style presentation yesterday at the SAP Retail Forum in Miami Beach, Dawn Gilmore, manager of talent and performance development at…
October 21, 2015 at 10:51 am
At retail companies still using outdated scheduling processes, managers know the pain of perfecting employee schedules all too well. To devise an optimal workforce schedule, managers must accommodate shift preferences, employee availability and in-store demand. However, it’s near impossible to meet everyone’s needs and preferences when using outdated, manual methods. Though traditional scheduling practices (i.e.,…
October 21, 2015 at 10:10 am
Two months after a damning New York Times story about Amazon.com's corporate culture, the retailer has published a blistering response, accusing the paper of misrepresenting the company. The Times responded with a tough, unwavering defense of its story and reporter. At the moment, Amazon is getting the last word with a rebuttal to the paper's rebuttal. The…
October 20, 2015 at 12:30 pm
The Wall Street Journal says federal investigators have turned up little to support the argument that Wal-Mart engaged in major bribery as it expanded in Mexico. The New York Times' 2012 account of how the corporate retail behemoth may have paid more than $24 million in bribes in Mexico as it expanded its presence in the…
October 16, 2015 at 11:02 am
LivingSocial is laying off 200 employees, or about 20 percent of its workforce, as it looks to move away from the daily-deals business, the company said Wednesday. The job cuts, which are effective immediately, include about 30 positions in the company’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. The rest of the layoffs are distributed throughout North America, with the company’s…
October 16, 2015 at 10:53 am
From now on, all Apple employees, from its top engineers to its retail and AppleCare workers, will be eligible for a stock grant program that was previously only available to Apple’s corporate employees. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the new program in a companywide email this week, WIRED has learned. Cook explained that while Apple…
October 15, 2015 at 10:40 am
In episode seven of Total Retail Talks, Total Retail's Editor-in-Chief Melissa Campanelli interviews Mark Wolverton, CEO of Lush Cosmetics, about how the company got its start, its holiday marketing strategy and plans for more retail storefronts.
October 14, 2015 at 11:41 am
Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General announced a corporate restructuring Tuesday that will eliminate 255 jobs, including about 115 vacant positions. The discount retailer is restructuring its corporate support to improve efficiency and reduce expenses, according to a news release.
October 14, 2015 at 11:05 am
The board of Staples Inc. has adopted a new policy that limits severance benefits for senior executives. Going forward, the company won’t pay severance benefits — under any existing or future employment or severance agreement — that exceed 2.99 times the sum of a senior officer’s base salary plus target annual cash incentive award, without seeking…
