In yet another sign of the dwindling retail and job landscape, one in eight employees at Best Buy Co. Incorporated's headquarters in Richfield -- about 500 in all -- agreed to take voluntary buyouts, the company said Thursday.
Whether that figure will be enough to prevent forced layoffs remains to be seen, as the company continues to analyze its revenue and expenses, spokeswoman Susan Busch said.
An exact number of buyouts won't be known until Jan. 16, the deadline to back out of the plan, but the losses represent a 12.5 percent reduction in the workforce at the corporate offices.
The buyouts come in the midst of the worst retail climate in decades, as beaten-down stock markets, unemployment fears and a lingering housing slump have dried up consumer spending.
The nation's largest U.S. chains on Thursday confirmed dire predictions of a dismal holiday shopping season, reporting that sales dropped 1.7 percent in December compared with a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. And as part of a wave of store closings that could reach an estimated 73,000 locations in the next six months, Macy's decided to close its store in Brookdale Mall, one of 11 that it will shutter nationwide because of slumping sales.
"There's just no incentive to spend out there," said retail analyst Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics. "People are strictly buying what they need, and they're forgoing virtually all other purchases."
December numbers today
Best Buy will release its December sales results today, and Wall Street is not expecting good news. Best Buy is the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, but it is fighting off competition from discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp. and Target Corp., which carry a growing selection of iPhones, MP3 players, video game consoles and televisions.
