J.C. Penny to Layoff

It looks like the worker at, J.C. Penney Co. have something to worry about. The well known department store chain is getting ready to get rid of two different types of workers and while the first kind will not be surprised to be out of a job, the second kind will definitely find the fact that they are also being let go as a bit of an unpleasant surprise.

The first of the cuts are to the company’s seasonal workers. For those of you who are not familiar with the hiring practices of the retail industry a seasonal employee is brought on for a limited span of time, usually over the holiday season, when the stores are busy with extra shoppers. A little after the holiday season ends the company then lets go of these workers. While in the current economy these may be the only jobs that many people can find, at least the workers know that they come with an expiration date on them, and they can plan accordingly.
The other type of employee to get the ax this time are the regular staff, the people who had no reason to believe that they might be out of a job when the holiday season was over. These workers are in for a surprise when they find out they are out of a job.

At the current moment the company has not given a lot of details about the layoffs. Information such as the number of workers to be cut, whether they are full timers or part timers  and the date that these workers are going to be out of a job. We do however know that the cuts are part of a larger strategy by the company to run leaner on the whole, so not all of the cuts will come from the retail stores, support departments are likely to also have some of their jobs cut.

We do know that the cuts are likely to be made to all of the 1,200 retail locations. Pressure for these changes is alleged to have come from two of the company’s biggest shareholders, William Ackman and Vornado Realty Trust.

The New Year has not been kind to workers in retail. For those of you who missed our earlier coverage, here is a look at some other recent retail layoffs:

“Retail workers in the United Kingdom were in for a nasty shock in the month of December, as many of them were told that they might be laid off in 2012. The layoffs warnings have some fairly far reaching implications.

If the predictions turn out to be true then the impending layoffs will have an impact on more than 11,800 retail jobs and 870 retail locations, many of which are known in the UK as high street names. For those of you not up to date on your British slang a high street name usually refers to a high-end designer, or an expensive boutique style of shop. Similar to the ones you might find in the fashion or high end-shopping district of any major city.

Six of these companies were either put up for sale or placed in to administration in the month of December. Lower than expected sales for the holiday season have put several of the weaker chains out of business completely and many experts expect more closures and consolidations are coming in the near future.”