Macy’s cuts mean layoffs at area’s four stores

Plans by retailer Macy’s to cut costs nationwide will result in some layoffs at all four stores in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area, a company spokesperson said Tuesday. In a press release this week, Macy’s announced it will lay off about 7,000 workers. Many of those cuts will occur in nearly all 840 stores the company operates across the country. At Spokane’s three Macy’s and the one in Coeur d’Alene, each location will see a cut of between four and six positions, said spokesperson Sharon Bateman. Which jobs those will be are to be decided by each store’s managers, Bateman said. The same press release from the company’s Cincinnati headquarters said the company will close 11 stores this year. None of those closures is near Washington state. As a step toward stronger performance, Bateman noted the company has reorganized the regional management of stores. Under the new approach, company buyers will visit local stores monthly to keep in touch with area tastes and consumer preferences, Bateman said. “Those buyers will understand customers better and select merchandise more in keeping with preferences,” she said.