Best Buy Co. notified store employees this week that the retailer is cutting some jobs and cutting hours, according to people familiar with the situation, as the chain of large boxes adapts to a world where more shopping happens online.
The company has reported skyrocketing sales in the past few quarters as buyers tired of the pandemic stock up on home appliances, video game systems and other electronics. Comparable sales, from websites or stores in operation for at least 12 months, increased 23% in the quarter ended on October 31. Much of the gains came from online orders, which nearly tripled in the U.S. in the last quarter.
A company spokesman declined to comment on the details of the job cuts. “As we have already said, the customer’s buying behavior will be permanently changed in an even more digital way,” said the spokesman. “Our workforce will need to evolve to meet the growing needs of customers, providing more flexible opportunities for our people.”
Jordan Diaz, 27, stopped working at Best Buy on Wednesday. “I was told it would be limited to 28 hours, which is not full time and therefore I would lose my insurance,” he said. The Denver resident previously worked about 30 to 40 hours a week, earning health insurance for him and his wife, he said. Some of his colleagues were fired on Wednesday, he said.
The company had 125,000 full-time and part-time workers in January 2020. Best Buy released about 51,000 of its workers in early April, including almost all of its part-time employees, as it closed most of its stores at the start of the pandemic. everything except pickup on the sidewalk. In June, Best Buy started bringing back licensed workers, and in August it increased its starting salary to $ 15 an hour.