Macy's is closing a call center in a move that will affect 800 jobs
- Macy's is closing one of its call centers in Arizona next month, affecting more than 800 jobs.
- A spokesperson for Macy's told Business Insider that the call center in Tempe, Arizona, would close in early February and that its operations would be removed to two other locations in the US.
- On Wednesday, Macy's also confirmed that it is closing 30 stores this year.
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Macy's is closing one of its call centers in Arizona next month, affecting more than 800 jobs.
A spokesperson for Macy's told Business Insider that the call center in Tempe, Arizona, would close in early February and that its operations would be moved to its sister locations in Mason, Ohio, and Clearwater, Florida.
The spokesperson also said that eligible workers will be offered severance and given the chance to transfer to a Macy's distribution center nearby or one of its stores.
The news comes after Macy's confirmed that it is closing 30 stores across the US this year. These planned closures include a Bloomingdale's store in a mall in Miami and its Seattle flagship store, whose fate was previously announced in September.
In 2016, Macy's said it would close 100 stores after reporting six consecutive years of declining sales. Since then, it has been closing locations over the past few years as their leases expire. A spokesperson for Macy's did not comment on whether the recent wave of closures was included in its 2016 plan but said that Macy's "regularly reviews" its store portfolio and would update investors on its investor day on February 5.
Macy's, and department stores in general, have been some of the worst-hit retailers in the so-called retail apocalypse as traffic to malls has slowed and customers increasingly shop online. Experts say that Macy's has also fallen behind as it has failed to create an enticing shopping experience in-store.
"Macy's failure on the sales line comes back to one central problem: the products it sells and the environments in which it sells them are not aligned with what consumers want," Neil Saunders, managing director of GloablData Retail, wrote in a note to clients in November.
He continued: "Admittedly, some steps have been taken to remedy this - such as the refurbishment of the menswear department at its New York flagship, the addition of concepts like Story to a handful of stores, and the focus on Growth 150 shops - but these things are drops in the ocean when set against the entirety of Macy's business. They are not going to quickly move the needle in any meaningful way."
If you're a current or former employee of Macy's and have a story to share, contact this reporter at mhanbury@businessinsider.com or on Signal at +1 (646) 768-4716 using a non-work phone.