Best Buy Co. this week informed store workers that the retailer is reducing work and hours, according to people familiar with the situation, as the big-box chain adapts to a world where more shopping is happening online.
The company has reported noticeable sales in recent quarters as pandemic buyers stock devices, video games and other electronics. Comparable sales, those from websites or stores that had been in operation for at least 12 months, increased by 23% in the quarter ended 31 October. Many 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 said before, the behavior of customers shopping will be permanently changed in a digital way,” the spokesman said. “Our staff will need to evolve to meet the evolving needs of customers while providing more flexible opportunities for our people.”
Jordan Diaz, 27, stopped working at Best Buy on Wednesday. “I was told that I would have a maximum of 28 hours, which is not full time, and therefore lose my insurance,” he said. The Denver resident used to work about 30 to 40 hours a week and earn health insurance for himself and his wife. Some of his co-workers were fired on Wednesday, he said.
As of January 2020, the company had 125,000 full-time and part-time workers. Best Buy had about 51,000 of its employees in early April, including almost all of its part-time employees, as it closed most of the stores in the early pandemic until everything except the pickup. In June, Best Buy began bringing workers back and in August, its starting salary increased to $ 15 per hour.