Management

J.C. Penney on Friday said it's cut its $5 billion pension obligation by more than 25 percent completing a lump-sum offer to 12,000 retirees and buying annuities for 43,000 retirees. No changes were made to pension plan benefits to active employees. Penney closed the plan to new hires in 2007. Most large U.S. companies only offer…

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning to lay off hundreds of people at its headquarters in Arkansas as part of the retail giant's efforts to pare costs, people familiar with the matter said. Fewer than 500 employees are expected to lose their jobs and an announcement could be made as early as this Friday, according to one…

Gap's turnaround plan just got a whole lot trickier. The company's shares fell more than 5 percent on Wednesday, after it announced late Tuesday that Old Navy global president Stefan Larsson will be leaving the brand for Ralph Lauren. Analysts agreed that Larsson's exit is a huge loss for Old Navy, a brand he's credited with turning…

Ralph Lauren stepped down as CEO of his fashion empire on Tuesday and was replaced by the boss at Old Navy. Stefan Larsson, the former global president of Old Navy, will replace Lauren as CEO effective in November. Lauren will become executive chairman and chief creative officer of Ralph Lauren Corp. Larsson, who held multiple jobs…

Hudson’s Bay Co. is cutting 265 head office jobs as the company works to streamline operations and pour resources into its growing digital businesses. The owner of Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue aims to save $75 million in the move, which means cuts at its New York and Toronto offices. The majority of the cuts…

Whole Foods is cutting 1,500 jobs over the next two months, or about 1.6 percent of its workforce, as it focuses on its strategy to lower prices for customers, the grocery chain said Monday. The cuts come after Whole Foods added more than 9,000 jobs in the past year. The company said it expects "a significant…

Dallas-based Tuesday Morning Corp. said Tuesday that CEO Michael Rouleau, 76, has retired. The retailer of closeout gifts and home furnishings has hired search firm Herbert Mines Associates to find a new CEO. Rouleau will be a consultant to Tuesday Morning, a chain of 767 stores, through March. Tuesday Morning Chairman Steven R. Becker, 48, will become…

Starbucks has launched a loan program to help its U.K. staff put down a deposit on a rental property. Workers who have been at Starbucks for at least one year can apply for an interest-free loan equivalent to one month's wages to use as a deposit on a house, the coffee giant's U.K. branch announced on…

Knuckling down on fundamentals, Target Corp. has hired Anu Gupta, a retail industry veteran, to the new position of senior vice president of operational excellence. Gupta, whose hiring was announced Thursday, will help the Minneapolis-based retailer as it works to improve its operations, such as keeping shelves stocked and simplifying its processes. Company executives have been…

Every now and then in corporate America, a person gets to mentor her successor and watch him grow into the job. That’s what just happened at J.C. Penney. John Tighe, 46, has been named executive vice president and chief merchant at J.C. Penney, following his mentor, Liz Sweney, into the top merchandising role at the Plano,…