Macy's is cutting store opening hours as COVID-19 cases surge and staffing problems worsen

• Macy's is cutting its store opening hours in January as COVID-19 cases spike in the US.
• The fast-spreading Omicron variant is making nationwide staffing challenges worse.

Macy's is cutting back on store opening hours in January as COVID-19 cases spike in the US and retailers across the country grapple with staffing shortages.

A spokesperson for Macy's told Reuters that its stores will be open from Monday to Thursday between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Previously, most locations opened at 10 a.m. and closed at 9 p.m. The spokesperson said store hours between Friday and Sunday will remain the same.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and follow the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and jurisdictional guidelines," Andrea Schwartz, senior director of external communications at Macy's, said. A Macy's spokesperson was not immediately available to comment when contacted by Insider.

News of Macy's reduced opening hours comes as COVID-19 cases surge in the US amid the rise of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which has become the dominant strain in the country.

The US reported more than one million COVID-19 cases in a single day on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, which broke records set last week.

While studies suggest that the Omicron variant may be milder than other strains of COVID-19, its rapid transmission rate means that large numbers of people are getting infected and are, therefore, unable to show up to work.

This has wreaked havoc on some industries, leading to thousands of canceled flights and temporary store closings across the US. These staffing challenges come amid an ongoing, and crippling, labor shortage that is making it harder for some businesses in customer service industries to hire and retain workers.