Saks Global is laying off around 5 percent of its US corporate workforce, according to a person familiar with the plan, as the department store integrates its recent acquisition Neiman Marcus.
The layoffs will affect employees in departments including finance, legal and operations, according to an internal memo that Saks Global sent to employees Tuesday that was viewed by Bloomberg News. There will be no staff changes at Bergdorf Goodman, which is also owned by Saks Global.
“There will be additional changes to our teams as we continue to integrate our business,” Saks global chief executive officer Marc Metrick wrote in the memo. Saks Global is the new entity that was created last year to house retail brands including Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
A Saks Global spokesperson said the company is “continuing the integration process following our recent acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group by consolidating functional leadership, clarifying key decision makers and beginning to simplify our organisational structure.”
Saks Global might “lose more sales to peers Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom this year as it repositions the newly merged units, shutters select stores and seeks to repay past-due vendor balances,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mary Ross Gilbert wrote in a recent research note.
By Jeannette Neumann
Learn more:
Saks Wanted to Clear the Air With Brands. The Plan Backfired.
Relations between Saks Global and many of the 2,000-odd brands stocked in its department stores appear to be worse than ever after the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman sent a letter last week setting new payment terms.
