Best Buy told store employees this week that it is cutting some jobs and reducing hours, a Wall Street Journal report said.
The Richfield-based electronics retailer hasn’t given details of job changes, but it has said that its workforce needs to evolve. The Wall Street Journal quoted sources familiar with the matter and a Denver store employee who was told his hours would be reduced and said some of his colleagues were laid off.
“We don’t generally comment on specific personnel matters,” the company said in a statement to the Star Tribune. “However, as we have said before, customer shopping behavior will be permanently changed in a way that is even more digital and puts customers entirely in control to shop how they want.”
The retailer’s workforce, it said, will need to change to meet those needs and provide “more flexible opportunities for our people.”
Best Buy’s comparable sales grew nearly 23% in August, September and October. It will release its fourth quarter results later this month.
Best Buy has made a variety of changes to its stores and how customers can purchase items in recent months.
In September, it began to turn 250 locations, about a quarter of its stores in the United States, into store hubs meant to handle significantly more online order volume. Late last year, it also completed a handful of store remodels in the Twin Cities that cut the shoppable square footage almost in half with checkout, customer service and store pickup being reoriented.
Best Buy furloughed 51,000 employees early during the pandemic. About two-thirds of associates were brought back to work, and remaining furloughed employees were asked to return to work as seasonal employees for the holidays.
In August, it also pledged to hire more than 1,000 new tech employees in the next two years with a goal of 30% being people of color or women.
Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495
Twitter: @nicolenorfleet