Home Depot announced it will cut another 7,000 jobs from its national workforce. The move by the world’s largest home improvement retailer is part of a restructuring that closes its remaining specialty design stores.
Home Depot is closing its 34 EXPO Design Center stores saying they were not strong performers even during the housing boom. And company officials did not expect the stores to do better financially anytime soon given the current economic downturn. Another handful of yard or bath remodeling outlets run by Home Depot will also close.
The retailer says 5,000 of the job losses will come from the specialty-store closings. Another 2,000 jobs will be cut from "store support" in the company, including a scale-back at its Atlanta-headquarters of 500 positions.
Home Depot has been trimming staff since last January, including previous cuts at headquarters.
The retailer has nearly 2,000 flagship stores in the U.S., employing more than 300,000 workers.
Home Depot is closing its 34 EXPO Design Center stores saying they were not strong performers even during the housing boom. And company officials did not expect the stores to do better financially anytime soon given the current economic downturn. Another handful of yard or bath remodeling outlets run by Home Depot will also close.
The retailer says 5,000 of the job losses will come from the specialty-store closings. Another 2,000 jobs will be cut from "store support" in the company, including a scale-back at its Atlanta-headquarters of 500 positions.
Home Depot has been trimming staff since last January, including previous cuts at headquarters.
The retailer has nearly 2,000 flagship stores in the U.S., employing more than 300,000 workers.
