Home Depot announced two major changes on Jan. 28. First, the home improvement giant will eliminate 800 jobs. About 150 of them will be at the company’s Atlanta-based store support center, with the rest being remote jobs. Most of the layoffs are coming in the technology and corporate areas, according to reports—which also indicate Home Depot will offer separation packages, transitional benefits and job placement support to impacted employees.
Additionally, remaining corporate employees will be required to return to the office five days a week. “To extend our industry-leading position, we must position the company to move faster and stay even more closely connected to our customers and frontline associates,” CEO Ted Decker wrote in a memo obtained by CNBC.com. “In-person engagement enables more meaningful support for store and field associates, drives results and reinforces our people-centric culture and inverted pyramid.”
CNBC also reports that “Home Depot’s sales have been weaker than expected, as [it] waits for housing turnover and significant home improvement spending to pick up again after a boom in demand during the COVID pandemic. Company leaders have attributed slower demand to higher mortgage rates, economic uncertainty and consumers’ hesitance to spring for pricier projects."
