Share This Article

Facebook LinkedIn
Twitter Reddit
Print Email
Pinterest Gmail
Yahoo
Money Morning
×
  • Invest
    • Best Stocks to Buy
    • Stock Forecasts
    • Stocks to Sell Now
    • Stock Market Predictions
    • Technology Stocks
    • Best REITs to Buy Now
    • IPO Stocks
    • Penny Stocks
    • Dividend Stocks
    • Cryptocurrencies
    • Cannabis Investing
    • Angel Investing
  • Trade
    • How to Trade Options
    • Best Trades to Make Now
    • Options Trading Strategies
    • Weekly Trade Recommendations
  • Retire
    • Income Investing Guide
    • Retirement Articles
  • More
    • Money Morning LIVE
    • Special Investing Reports
    • Our ELetters
    • Our Premium Services
    • Videos
    • Meet Our Experts
    • Profit Academy
Login My Member Benefits Archives Research Your Team About Us FAQ
  • Invest
    • Best Stocks to Buy
    • Stock Forecasts
    • Stocks to Sell Now
    • Stock Market Predictions
    • Technology Stocks
    • Best REITs to Buy Now
    • IPO Stocks
    • Penny Stocks
    • Dividend Stocks
    • Cryptocurrencies
    • Cannabis Investing
    • Angel Investing
    ×
  • Trade
    • How to Trade Options
    • Best Trades to Make Now
    • Options Trading Strategies
    • Weekly Trade Recommendations
    ×
  • Retire
    • Income Investing Guide
    • Retirement Articles
    ×
  • More
    • Money Morning LIVE
    • Special Investing Reports
    • Our ELetters
    • Our Premium Services
    • Videos
    • Meet Our Experts
    • Profit Academy
    ×
  • Subscribe
Enter stock ticker or keyword
×
5 Ways to Beat the Fed (and Crush Inflation)

Email this Article

Send with mail | ahoo instead.
Required Needs to be a valid email
Required Needs to be a valid email
What’s Happening to U.S. Companies? A Look at 2017’s Mass Layoffs
http://mney.co/2kL5TUE
Required Please enter the correct value.
Twitter
Stocks: GM, LOW, M, SHLD, WMT

What’s Happening to U.S. Companies? A Look at 2017’s Mass Layoffs

By Casey Wilson, Associate Editor, Money Morning • January 13, 2017

View Comments

Start the conversation

Comment on This Story Click here to cancel reply.

Or to contact Money Morning Customer Service, click here.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Some HTML is OK

U.S. CompaniesOver 15 major U.S. companies laid off workers in 2016.

For example, Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) let 4,000 workers go last year. And Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) laid off 2,800.

Unfortunately, this trend is likely to continue into 2017, thanks to declining sales, poor foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores, and the increasing popularity of e-commerce.

Here's a look at more U.S. companies letting large portions of their staff go in the coming months...

U.S. Companies Laying Off Workers in 2017

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 1, Macy's Inc.: The iconic department store got rid of more than 5,000 jobs last year in an effort to save money and offset "disappointing" sales results, according to CNN Money in January 2016.

One year later, the retailer is looking to repeat this move.

Macy's announced it would be shutting down 68 stores and cutting 10,000 jobs in a press release on Jan. 4 in an effort to "streamline costs."

Mark Cohen, a professor at Columbia Business School, told CNN Money on Jan. 4 that this is not the last time Macy's would make this type of announcement.

"It's very hard for the folks involved obviously, but I would also say it's inevitable," Cohen said. "And there is definitely more to come."

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 2, Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD): After reporting dismal sales earnings, Sears announced on Jan. 6 it expects to shutter 180 stores by April - 108 Kmart locations and 42 Sears stores.

Holiday sales at Kmart and Sears stores in November and December were down by more than 12% from 2015 - fueling the need to cut costs, wrote CNBC.

Apparently, the retail giant has seen these stores struggle for quite some time...

"Many of these stores have struggled with their financial performance for years and we have kept them open to maintain local jobs and in the hopes that they would turn around," said the company in a statement on Jan. 4.

While we don't know the exact number of jobs that will be lost as a result of these closures, we do know that the store closings reflect 10% of Sears and Kmart locations.

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 3, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT): The "everyday low-price" store will be slashing over 1,000 jobs in January, as reported by USA Today on Jan. 11.

"We are always looking for ways to operate more efficiently and effectively,'' Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Hitt said in a statement. "Like any organization, we make decisions based upon what's best for our business and the customers we serve."

Wal-Mart is struggling to compete with online rivals like Amazon.com Inc. (NYSE: AMZN) as consumer preference for convenience continues into 2017.

According to a December report by Slice Intelligence, retailers are hard-pressed to keep up with the e-commerce giant. Amazon accounted for 30% of sales during the recent holiday season, while Wal-Mart only brought in 4.1%.

Though some companies, like this next one, are taking steps to compete with retailers like Amazon, they're still making mass layoffs in the process...

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 4, Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW): Lowe's announced on Jan. 13 it would be eliminating almost 3,000 positions in order to shift to a new store shopping model.

Trending Now: Retail Companies on "Death Watch" for 2017

The new model will be implemented nationwide and is aimed at freeing up resources to boost face time with customers as the retailer adapts to evolving customer needs, as reported by CNBC on Jan. 13.

CNBC also reported that the home-improvement company is planning to allocate 45% of its spending in 2017 to developing a new online shopping model in an effort to attract and retain customers.

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 5, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM): The car manufacturer told Fortune that it would be shutting down five of its plants in 2017 - eliminating some 1,300 jobs - primarily to cut oversupply of sedans, which have fallen out of favor among U.S. consumers.

These cuts are in addition to the 2,000 workers GM announced would be let go in November 2016, also to take place in January.

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 6, Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P): Even U.S. companies that deal entirely with e-commerce are struggling to cut costs.

Today (Jan. 13) Pandora announced that it would be eliminating 7% of its workforce in a move to save nearly $40 million in operating costs. The music-streaming company had 2,219 employees as of Dec. 31, according to Benchmark Monitor.

The Oakland-based media company blamed increased competition and lack of sales for the cuts, wrote Bloomberg on Jan. 13.

Perhaps the most interesting facet about Pandora's massive cut is that company CEO Tim Westergren publicly viewed its workforce as no longer a priority. "With our strategy fully crystallized, new products launching, and promising momentum in the core business, we are prioritizing the highest-value opportunities and deprioritizing others," he wrote in a statement about the layoff to shareholders.

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 7, Fitbit Inc. (NYSE: FIT): The wearable fitness tracker company announced in a press release on Jan. 30 it would be slashing 6% of its workforce, or 110 employees, as part of a greater restructuring of the business. The corporate restructuring comes as a result of lower than expected demand for its products in mature markets like the United States, Yahoo reported on Jan. 30.

"To address this reduction in growth and what we believe is a temporary slowdown and transition period, we are taking clear steps to reduce operating costs," James Park, chief executive of Fitbit, said in the release.

Fitbit's stock plunged more than 13% after the news - from $7.22 down to just $6.28 a share.

Mass Layoffs in 2017 No. 8, Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY): The infamous American chocolatier announced it would be cutting 15% of its workforce on Feb. 28.

The company said in a statement that the move is part of a multiyear program to improve profitability. "Our objective is to ensure that we always have the right level of innovation, marketing plans, and consumer and customer expertise to drive net sales growth," said incoming CEO Michele Buck.

In after-hours trading following the announcement, Hershey's shares fell by nearly 7%.

For more information on U.S. companies laying off worker en masse, follow Money Morning on Facebook and Twitter.

Up Next for You...

These Failing Companies Will Finally Disappear in 2017

American Jobs Aren't Going to Mexico - They Are Disappearing Entirely

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Login
guest
guest
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Doug J Williams
Doug J Williams
5 years ago

I spoke about world brick and mortar trade every where becoming a mess months ago the introduction of the most organize trader on earth Amazon sell deliver in lighting speed is what the world wants sit at home do nothing trade on line surf price and play dice, every one is a winner if all the online traders in this world want to be in it to win it you have to DELIVER once again I see all malls thru out this planet turning space into storage sheds for delivery rear roller doors appearing every where .

0
Reply
LIVE
Visit Money Morning Live


Latest News

January 19, 2023 • By Money Morning Stock Research Team

These Stocks Could Go To $0

January 9, 2023 • By Money Morning Stock Research Team

The Government Is Pouring $391 Billion Into These Stocks - Buy Now

December 27, 2022 • By Money Morning Staff Reports

6 IPOs in 2023 You Can’t Afford to Miss
Trending Stories
ABOUT MONEY MORNING

Money Morning gives you access to a team of market experts with more than 250 years of combined investing experience – for free. Our experts – who have appeared on FOXBusiness, CNBC, NPR, and BloombergTV – deliver daily investing tips and stock picks, provide analysis with actions to take, and answer your biggest market questions. Our goal is to help our millions of e-newsletter subscribers and Moneymorning.com visitors become smarter, more confident investors.

QUICK LINKS
About Us COVID-19 Announcements How Money Morning Works FAQs Contact Us Search Article Archive Forgot Username/Password Archives Profit Academy Research Your Team Videos Text Messaging Terms of Use
FREE NEWSLETTERS
Total Wealth Research Power Profit Trades Profit Takeover This Is VWAP Penny Hawk Trading Today Midday Momentum Pump Up the Close
PREMIUM SERVICES
Money Map Press Home Money Map Report Fast Fortune Club Weekly Cash Clock Night Trader Microcurrency Trader Hyperdrive Portfolio Rocket Wealth Initiative Extreme Profit Hunters Profit Revolution Warlock's World Penny Nation Quantum Data Profits Live Trading Alliance Trade The Close Inside Money Trader Expiration Trader Vega Burst Trader Flashpoint Trader Darknet Hyper Momentum Trader

© 2023 Money Morning All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright of the United States and international treaties. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including the world wide web), of content from this webpage, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Money Morning.

Address: 1125 N Charles St. | Baltimore, MD, 21201 | USA | Phone: 888.384.8339 | Disclaimer | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Whitelist Us | Do Not Sell My Info

wpDiscuz