#layoffs

Curious to here if anyone knows what percentage of actual roles will be replaced with AI here at T. Everyone knows swe positions will be consolidated but what about other roles . Anyone have any stories of it haopening

Hey…US Management…hopefully some of you will read this and realize that you’ve so misunderstood and mismanaged the international business that 80% of the workforce couldn’t care less anymore and are begging to be laid off…I’m sure you can get AI to cover it all off

I’m sure you’ve seen the news about the Amazon debacle where AWS was taken down for half a day by an AI mistake. This will not be an isolated incident. Expect more of this as companies keep replacing experienced employees with flawed AI systems. Why everyone keeps doubling down on this is beyond me.

And the death knell sounds on WatsonX.

https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/03/13/ibm-has-fallen-16-as-anthropic-puts-them-in-the-bullseye/

It means more layoffs than originally expected
The company is shrinking parts of its workforce in response to the increased efficiency of AI models

Band 4 manager here. I’ve lost a lot of talent over the past year due to RIF. As ops has moved over to HIH there’s a whole team over there doing stuff we deal with. Their manager pulled me into a meeting to say his employees were complaining about mine. Mainly that we are slow to respond, and that my team isn’t “nice.”

I asked for specifics and if anyone was unprofessional or outright rude. Turned out the HIH team doesn’t like that my team is direct, asks them to repeat when they don’t understand due to language or the ask is unclear, takes initiative, and basically does stuff fast without explanation because we don’t have time and have too much to do.

More discussion led to him asking me to have my team slow down and be more “pleasant” and to engage in back and forth rather than just getting to the point. I told him my team complains that they get pinged with just “hi” and won’t respond unless there is something actionable too. He asked for us to spend more time helping his team with their work so the can learn and get better and that my team has told his they don’t have time. I agreed. And I said as long as they are being professional, I can’t expect more from them because they are watching their friends and coworkers lose jobs that are being given to HIH.

HIH manager was very surprised and didn’t realize that what was going on. I said as long as we meet SLA then that’s that and I don’t expect my team to respond same day for anything that isn’t a managed incident.

Anyone at HIH on this forum, be glad we are interacting with you professionally. I’ve had team members express downright hatred for HIH. Nothing against you personally, but Cigna is firing us to give you jobs, so don’t expect friendliness.

None of this is sustainable. I’ve told my Director to put me on the layoff list. When I have to bite my tongue to avoid yelling at HIH, and I get no answers from above other than more RIF is coming but my team is okay because we are 20:80, I can’t do it anymore.

SG, the WFH champion, is moving onto Wal Mart. Is it because something will be coming down soon? Bonuses usually coming at the end of March...is that not happening? Merit increase this year? How about the engagement survey that usually surfaces in April/May. Will that be put on hold? More layoffs? OR was she just able to take an opportunity with a better company that offers a fully remote role?

Anyone know when Irvine closes?

Gotta love a meeting where they announce $12B in revenue and also continuing layoffs.

Coming from Ansys, every single thing about Synopsys is comically bad. It's no wonder they mostly hire H1Bs and people overseas, as they're the only ones happy to put up with this cr-ppy work environment.

Anyone heard anything about layoffs within the US UW division?

The majority of people whining about this contract extension are the ones retiring in the next 4 years. They’ve taken everything away from you. Your pensions, your retiree healthcare, and your job security,

Now they want to take away what little you get with this extension for their own benefit. Your raises, your increased payment towards your medical in retirement, even more job security, your extra work that secures your place in the company, etc, etc. All of that because they have pay a little bit extra into their healthcare.

NO MORE!!

These old farts have ruined the union and are looking to make sure it stays ruined for their benefit. The majority of them have barely showed up for work since they started. They are parasites, abusers, and a cancer and their retirement will be our savior.

VOTE YES!!

Has anyone find that age is a part of the layoff decision making?

with this new myQ that is being generated and the hiring they're doing in India, could we see the design team being eliminated or reduced?

I wonder how many people were RIF’d today. :( we can’t keep living like this. It’s too stressful.

And at least one of them in my org deserved every bit of it for being a total slacker for years. They brought it on themselves.

Anyone else here have justified layoffs (more like firings) in their org this week?

Thinking the tech reorg will mainly impact global. There’s no tech team in EMEA as all those jobs were transferred to ITC and PTC. GC is running their own tech stack which means they’ll have little to no impact. Converse business was impacted which likely means, their tech will go. That only leaves us with the guys in the global where the bulk of tech sits and APLA.

WWD.com EXCLUSIVE: Navigating the Saks Global Bankruptcy — the Roadmap Ahead

CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck details progress in the Chapter 11 proceedings, what to expect in the coming weeks, and plans for getting Saks Global back on its feet.
By
DAVID MOIN
Plus Icon
MARCH 13, 2026, 12:01AM

Saks Global is expected to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings before the end of the year with new ownership, a five-year business plan, and a strategy designed to better differentiate the merchandising and marketing of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
“It’s moving faster than I anticipated,” Geoffroy van Raemdonck, chief executive officer of Saks Global, told WWD, exclusively discussing the Saks Global Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and what to expect in the coming weeks. “We were able to make very decisive decisions in less than 60 days, to focus on luxury.”

Since Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 13, “Step one was to get the financing. Step two was to get the inventory, and now we are really focused on the vision for the future — and how the company is going to be structured when it emerges from bankruptcy,” van Raemdonck said. “The restructuring plan is going to be filed in weeks from now, and that will detail how this company will be structured, from a business plan, from a capital structure, post emerging.”

The plan is being formulated by Saks Global in negotiations with creditors, who will vote on the plan, which then must get final approval by the bankruptcy court for the company to emerge from bankruptcy.
“What the business plan will show is that we have a plan of action to drive sales, to grow from a smaller footprint, and to be significantly more profitable,” van Raemdonck said. “It is also going to demonstrate that we have ample liquidity to operate and fund the business, as well as generate free cash flow to invest in the business over the next five years. That’s what this business plan will be detailing.”

“What’s changed over the last two months is that we have $1.75 billion of committed capital. We have $825 million that we’ve received, and we are receiving another $300 million in a matter of days or weeks. It’s really, really close…When we entered the [bankruptcy] process, we received DIP (debtor-in-possession) financing and we put in a topline revenue budget and a budget for receiving inventory, and we are exceeding both the revenue budget and the amount of inventory we are receiving, which is very encouraging.

“Yes, we had a problem of liquidity,” van Raemdonck admitted. “It led to a problem of inventory and performance. That was the summary of last year. The summary of this year is we are through a financial restructuring that gives us access to liquidity and allows us to refocus the business on the most valuable assets we have, and when we emerge later this year, we will be able to perform at the level we want.”
Inventory Flowing In
While there’s no guarantee that Saks Global successfully emerges from bankruptcy this year, van Raemdonck, while being interviewed from the Brookfield Place headquarters of Saks Global in lower Manhattan, cited progress in the court proceedings, and expressed gratitude that many designers and brands have either continued or resumed shipping the luxury retailer. He said brands have committed to close to $1.3 billion of inventory.
“That’s 80 percent of the [spring] season that we need to have. And that number is growing week by week,” he said. “I was looking at our receipts this month — they’re up 63 percent compared to last year, and from February to this month to date, we are up 15 percent… We have many, many brands, but if you take our top 100 or 200 brands, none have said they’re not going to do business with us going forward. Brands are really catching up very fast and supporting us. I don’t take that for granted. We need — and we are — actively rebuilding their trust.”

“Yes, we had a problem of liquidity,” van Raemdonck admitted. “It led to a problem of inventory and performance. That was the summary of last year. The summary of this year is we are through a financial restructuring that gives us access to liquidity and allows us to refocus the business on the most valuable assets we have, and when we emerge later this year, we will be able to perform at the level we want.”
Inventory Flowing In
While there’s no guarantee that Saks Global successfully emerges from bankruptcy this year, van Raemdonck, while being interviewed from the Brookfield Place headquarters of Saks Global in lower Manhattan, cited progress in the court proceedings, and expressed gratitude that many designers and brands have either continued or resumed shipping the luxury retailer. He said brands have committed to close to $1.3 billion of inventory.
“That’s 80 percent of the [spring] season that we need to have. And that number is growing week by week,” he said. “I was looking at our receipts this month — they’re up 63 percent compared to last year, and from February to this month to date, we are up 15 percent… We have many, many brands, but if you take our top 100 or 200 brands, none have said they’re not going to do business with us going forward. Brands are really catching up very fast and supporting us. I don’t take that for granted. We need — and we are — actively rebuilding their trust.”

Saks Global has indicated that post-petition invoices for merchandise receipts will be paid pursuant to current terms, which are set at 90 days from receipt of goods, though payment terms can vary by brand. It’s expected that if and when Saks Global emerges from bankruptcy, payment terms would revert to those that were in place prior to Saks Global’s acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group, though a schedule for paying vendors must be approved by the bankruptcy court judge. Thirty- to 60-day payment terms are the industry standard.
Under Saks Global’s prior regime, the company largely lost the support of the fashion industry due to its failure to pay bills for several seasons and a host of unmet promises. Consequently, the stores were depleted of merchandise, market share was lost, and competitors, most notably Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, have been taking advantage of the situation by aggressively working to add designers they did not previously sell, and provide more space in their stores to certain designers that they already did sell.

But at Saks Global, much has happened in the two months since going bankrupt to obtain financing to replenish inventories and maintain operations and set a new foundation for a potentially more viable — and streamlined — future.
It’s expected that through a debt-for-equity swap, key bondholders, including Pentwater Capital and Bracebridge Capital leading the lending group arranging a $1.75 billion financing package for Saks Global in bankruptcy, will become owners in Saks Global. In effect, Saks Global will become a new debt-free or near debt-free company post bankruptcy. Hudson Bay Co., Amazon, Authentic Brands Group, and G-III all had equity stakes in Saks Global going into the bankruptcy, but it’s anticipated they will see the value of those shares slip away in the court-led process.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy enables a retailer to get out of leases without penalty. Saks Global is closing 20 Saks Fifth Avenuestores, leaving just 13 operating, including the Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan, and shutting four Neiman Marcus units, leaving 32 operating. In addition, Saks Fifth Avenue was pulled off Amazon.com; one distribution center was closed, leaving three operating, though three others were closed pre-bankruptcy, leaving the company with its newest facilities that provide better service, and 57 Saks Off 5th stores are being shuttered, leaving just 12 for the time being. Saks Global has also shut down the Horchow catalogue and the five Last Call clearance centers for Neiman Marcus.

Saks Global volume was listed at about $7.3 billion shortly after the Neiman’s acquisition in fiscal 2024, before the streamlining.
Saks Global executives leave open the possibility that a few more Saks or Neiman’s stores could close.
There has been speculation of asset sales, including Bergdorf Goodman. Asked about that, van Raemdonck replied: “We are always going to continue to look at the footprint, the assets, we have. That’s normal course of business. But today, there are no active conversations about any asset sales.”

Upon going bankrupt, a new management team was set with a blend of senior executives from Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. Van Raemdonck became CEO of Saks Global in January, after sitting on the sidelines of luxury retailing for a year. He had been CEO of the Neiman Marcus Group for nearly seven years until it was purchased by Saks Global.

“I came back because I have a belief in what Saks Global can be, and I’m confident that we can emerge as a strong business,” van Raemdonck told WWD. “What you’re seeing is someone who is very matter-of-fact and very confident. I didn’t have to do this. But I did this out of belief that Saks Global will be successful, and I’m willing to put my reputation on the line.”
Van Raemdonck said he believes combining Saks Fifth Avenue and the Neiman Marcus Group into Saks Global is a good idea. “The merger made a lot of sense to me, because by bringing the two best players in the industry that have three banners [Saks, Neiman’s and Bergdorf’s] you get to attain a certain level of scale and synergies that help your overall profitability and ability to invest.”

Cost Savings
Navigating through the bankruptcy is further challenged by the ongoing systems integrations and consolidations initiated when Saks Global bought NMG for $2.7 billion in December 2024. The goal has been to achieve hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings by centralizing and eliminating duplicative functions, such as accounting, planning, human resources, legal and distribution facilities. There is now one buying team for Neiman’s and Saks, and one marketing team serving Bergdorf’s, Neiman’s, and Saks. Bergdorf’s has its own buying team. Savings will also be attained through store closings, leading to layoffs and payroll reductions.

Aside from cost savings, the combined business should benefit from access to greater data, sharing best practices, enhanced personalization, and increased use of AI. Merging loyalty programs is a possibility. For example, using each retailer’s credit cards to shop could earn points valid at both Saks and Neiman’s. Or spending enough at either store could lead to access to invitation-only events at both Saks and Neiman’s.
Van Raemdonck described Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus as the same yet different — both operating as multibrand luxury retailers but doing it in different ways.
“Neiman Marcus has been a relationship business and very focused on omnichannel, and on wholesale, and the metric of success was profitability,” he said. “Saks was a business that was focused on growth, on digital, and adopted the marketplace format much more, and it didn’t have the same level of profitability,” van Raemdonck said.

“They were both were operating with distinct strategies that resonated with the customer, but with a different impact on profitability and generation of cash flow.”
Sources have told WWD that among true luxury brands — such as Chanel, Dior, and Giorgio Armani — there’s been about 90 percent overlap between Saks and Neiman’s. But Saks has been emphasizing a wider range of categories and price points, attracting a broader demographic, and has been aggressive trying to build business online. Saks stores house many more leased designer shops than Neiman’s, which has long been reluctant to open leased shops but in recent seasons has opened some.
By virtue of its Fifth Avenue flagship being a major tourist attraction, Saks has more international recognition than Neiman’s. In fiscal 2025, the flagship saw nearly 3 million shoppers from over 150 countries, and generated three times the amount of business as the largest Neiman Marcus stores, according to Saks Global.
As van Raemdonck pointed out, Neiman’s has maintained its focus on its wealthiest customers, through exclusive offerings, personal service and VIP-type events. Neiman’s has a track record of providing deeper, broader assortments of each of the top luxury collections it sells, and has a stronger selling culture than Saks.
Differentiating the Banners
Regarding the future of Saks and Neiman’s, van Raemdonck said, “We want to separate and differentiate them. As a point of reference, if you take the six markets where Saks and Neiman’s are either in the same mall, or across the street like in Beverly Hills, the overlapping customer is between 10 and 15 percent which [means] the customer is telling us they’re different brands. And in the future, we want to make them even more different, so that there’s a reason to shop in both of them, or to be deeply loyal with one of them.”

Asked how that’s accomplished, van Raemdonck said, “It’s in the positioning. It’s in the expression, in the assortment, and it can be the same brands [sold at both stores], but the assortment should be slightly different,” meaning each having a different merchandise edit.
“The Saks customer likes to express herself through fashion, but she needs a little bit more guidance in choosing the fashion that is right for her,” van Raemdonck said. “The Neiman’s customer is a fashion customer who has her own sense of taste, loves color, and loves newness, and so their way of approaching the same element of fashion and newness is slightly different.”
Discussing Saks Global overall, van Raemdonck boasted, “We have the largest base of highly engaged luxury customers. Fifty to 60 percent of our sales are with customers who shop seven to nine times a year with us, depending on the retail banner. They spend more than $5,000 with us, and we retain more than 80 percent of them. Forty percent of our sales come from customers who spend $10,000 or more with us. And so the majority of our sales are from loyal customers and when you shop seven to nine times a year, you’re deeply loyal. We have a retention rate of 90 percent from top customers.”
One of the big challenges in a bankruptcy is retaining employees and communicating to all constituencies concerned that the company isn’t disappearing and has a future, even in a downsized state.
“We are doing this very, very frequently and very openly, because transparency is critical,” van Raemdonck said. “This morning I was talking with our employees in Bangalore. We have a whole team there that supports us across all functions,” including creative, planning, merchandising and payroll functions. “This Monday, we had what we call an ‘All Access,’ meeting which is our all-employee town hall. We call it All Access because everyone gets a front row seat [it’s a virtual meeting] and everyone gets access to the information.” It’s a monthly event. “And then we meet with our leadership council, the top 50 people in the organization, every other week. And every week, we talk with the ad hoc group of creditors, and we are meeting in person with the unsecured creditor committee [Thursday] to share with them our business plans. So the communication is very, very frequent. We communicate with brands on a very frequent basis, at my level, and then Lana [Todorovich, chief global brands partnerships officer] is with the brands on a daily basis.

“We have more than 1,500 sales associates who sell at least $1 million per year and in aggregate deliver more than $2.8 billion of revenue,” the CEO added. “Over the last 12 months, our attrition rate amongst top sellers that sell more than $3 million annually is in the low-single digits.”

WWD.com EXCLUSIVE: Navigating the Saks Global Bankruptcy — the Roadmap Ahead

CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck details progress in the Chapter 11 proceedings, what to expect in the coming weeks, and plans for getting Saks Global back on its feet.
By
DAVID MOIN
Plus Icon
MARCH 13, 2026, 12:01AM

Saks Global is expected to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings before the end of the year with new ownership, a five-year business plan, and a strategy designed to better differentiate the merchandising and marketing of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
“It’s moving faster than I anticipated,” Geoffroy van Raemdonck, chief executive officer of Saks Global, told WWD, exclusively discussing the Saks Global Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and what to expect in the coming weeks. “We were able to make very decisive decisions in less than 60 days, to focus on luxury.”

Since Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 13, “Step one was to get the financing. Step two was to get the inventory, and now we are really focused on the vision for the future — and how the company is going to be structured when it emerges from bankruptcy,” van Raemdonck said. “The restructuring plan is going to be filed in weeks from now, and that will detail how this company will be structured, from a business plan, from a capital structure, post emerging.”

The plan is being formulated by Saks Global in negotiations with creditors, who will vote on the plan, which then must get final approval by the bankruptcy court for the company to emerge from bankruptcy.
“What the business plan will show is that we have a plan of action to drive sales, to grow from a smaller footprint, and to be significantly more profitable,” van Raemdonck said. “It is also going to demonstrate that we have ample liquidity to operate and fund the business, as well as generate free cash flow to invest in the business over the next five years. That’s what this business plan will be detailing.”

“What’s changed over the last two months is that we have $1.75 billion of committed capital. We have $825 million that we’ve received, and we are receiving another $300 million in a matter of days or weeks. It’s really, really close…When we entered the [bankruptcy] process, we received DIP (debtor-in-possession) financing and we put in a topline revenue budget and a budget for receiving inventory, and we are exceeding both the revenue budget and the amount of inventory we are receiving, which is very encouraging.

“Yes, we had a problem of liquidity,” van Raemdonck admitted. “It led to a problem of inventory and performance. That was the summary of last year. The summary of this year is we are through a financial restructuring that gives us access to liquidity and allows us to refocus the business on the most valuable assets we have, and when we emerge later this year, we will be able to perform at the level we want.”
Inventory Flowing In
While there’s no guarantee that Saks Global successfully emerges from bankruptcy this year, van Raemdonck, while being interviewed from the Brookfield Place headquarters of Saks Global in lower Manhattan, cited progress in the court proceedings, and expressed gratitude that many designers and brands have either continued or resumed shipping the luxury retailer. He said brands have committed to close to $1.3 billion of inventory.
“That’s 80 percent of the [spring] season that we need to have. And that number is growing week by week,” he said. “I was looking at our receipts this month — they’re up 63 percent compared to last year, and from February to this month to date, we are up 15 percent… We have many, many brands, but if you take our top 100 or 200 brands, none have said they’re not going to do business with us going forward. Brands are really catching up very fast and supporting us. I don’t take that for granted. We need — and we are — actively rebuilding their trust.”

“Yes, we had a problem of liquidity,” van Raemdonck admitted. “It led to a problem of inventory and performance. That was the summary of last year. The summary of this year is we are through a financial restructuring that gives us access to liquidity and allows us to refocus the business on the most valuable assets we have, and when we emerge later this year, we will be able to perform at the level we want.”
Inventory Flowing In
While there’s no guarantee that Saks Global successfully emerges from bankruptcy this year, van Raemdonck, while being interviewed from the Brookfield Place headquarters of Saks Global in lower Manhattan, cited progress in the court proceedings, and expressed gratitude that many designers and brands have either continued or resumed shipping the luxury retailer. He said brands have committed to close to $1.3 billion of inventory.
“That’s 80 percent of the [spring] season that we need to have. And that number is growing week by week,” he said. “I was looking at our receipts this month — they’re up 63 percent compared to last year, and from February to this month to date, we are up 15 percent… We have many, many brands, but if you take our top 100 or 200 brands, none have said they’re not going to do business with us going forward. Brands are really catching up very fast and supporting us. I don’t take that for granted. We need — and we are — actively rebuilding their trust.”

Saks Global has indicated that post-petition invoices for merchandise receipts will be paid pursuant to current terms, which are set at 90 days from receipt of goods, though payment terms can vary by brand. It’s expected that if and when Saks Global emerges from bankruptcy, payment terms would revert to those that were in place prior to Saks Global’s acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group, though a schedule for paying vendors must be approved by the bankruptcy court judge. Thirty- to 60-day payment terms are the industry standard.
Under Saks Global’s prior regime, the company largely lost the support of the fashion industry due to its failure to pay bills for several seasons and a host of unmet promises. Consequently, the stores were depleted of merchandise, market share was lost, and competitors, most notably Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, have been taking advantage of the situation by aggressively working to add designers they did not previously sell, and provide more space in their stores to certain designers that they already did sell.

But at Saks Global, much has happened in the two months since going bankrupt to obtain financing to replenish inventories and maintain operations and set a new foundation for a potentially more viable — and streamlined — future.
It’s expected that through a debt-for-equity swap, key bondholders, including Pentwater Capital and Bracebridge Capital leading the lending group arranging a $1.75 billion financing package for Saks Global in bankruptcy, will become owners in Saks Global. In effect, Saks Global will become a new debt-free or near debt-free company post bankruptcy. Hudson Bay Co., Amazon, Authentic Brands Group, and G-III all had equity stakes in Saks Global going into the bankruptcy, but it’s anticipated they will see the value of those shares slip away in the court-led process.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy enables a retailer to get out of leases without penalty. Saks Global is closing 20 Saks Fifth Avenuestores, leaving just 13 operating, including the Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan, and shutting four Neiman Marcus units, leaving 32 operating. In addition, Saks Fifth Avenue was pulled off Amazon.com; one distribution center was closed, leaving three operating, though three others were closed pre-bankruptcy, leaving the company with its newest facilities that provide better service, and 57 Saks Off 5th stores are being shuttered, leaving just 12 for the time being. Saks Global has also shut down the Horchow catalogue and the five Last Call clearance centers for Neiman Marcus.

Saks Global volume was listed at about $7.3 billion shortly after the Neiman’s acquisition in fiscal 2024, before the streamlining.
Saks Global executives leave open the possibility that a few more Saks or Neiman’s stores could close.
There has been speculation of asset sales, including Bergdorf Goodman. Asked about that, van Raemdonck replied: “We are always going to continue to look at the footprint, the assets, we have. That’s normal course of business. But today, there are no active conversations about any asset sales.”

Upon going bankrupt, a new management team was set with a blend of senior executives from Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. Van Raemdonck became CEO of Saks Global in January, after sitting on the sidelines of luxury retailing for a year. He had been CEO of the Neiman Marcus Group for nearly seven years until it was purchased by Saks Global.

“I came back because I have a belief in what Saks Global can be, and I’m confident that we can emerge as a strong business,” van Raemdonck told WWD. “What you’re seeing is someone who is very matter-of-fact and very confident. I didn’t have to do this. But I did this out of belief that Saks Global will be successful, and I’m willing to put my reputation on the line.”
Van Raemdonck said he believes combining Saks Fifth Avenue and the Neiman Marcus Group into Saks Global is a good idea. “The merger made a lot of sense to me, because by bringing the two best players in the industry that have three banners [Saks, Neiman’s and Bergdorf’s] you get to attain a certain level of scale and synergies that help your overall profitability and ability to invest.”

Cost Savings
Navigating through the bankruptcy is further challenged by the ongoing systems integrations and consolidations initiated when Saks Global bought NMG for $2.7 billion in December 2024. The goal has been to achieve hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings by centralizing and eliminating duplicative functions, such as accounting, planning, human resources, legal and distribution facilities. There is now one buying team for Neiman’s and Saks, and one marketing team serving Bergdorf’s, Neiman’s, and Saks. Bergdorf’s has its own buying team. Savings will also be attained through store closings, leading to layoffs and payroll reductions.

Aside from cost savings, the combined business should benefit from access to greater data, sharing best practices, enhanced personalization, and increased use of AI. Merging loyalty programs is a possibility. For example, using each retailer’s credit cards to shop could earn points valid at both Saks and Neiman’s. Or spending enough at either store could lead to access to invitation-only events at both Saks and Neiman’s.
Van Raemdonck described Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus as the same yet different — both operating as multibrand luxury retailers but doing it in different ways.
“Neiman Marcus has been a relationship business and very focused on omnichannel, and on wholesale, and the metric of success was profitability,” he said. “Saks was a business that was focused on growth, on digital, and adopted the marketplace format much more, and it didn’t have the same level of profitability,” van Raemdonck said.

“They were both were operating with distinct strategies that resonated with the customer, but with a different impact on profitability and generation of cash flow.”
Sources have told WWD that among true luxury brands — such as Chanel, Dior, and Giorgio Armani — there’s been about 90 percent overlap between Saks and Neiman’s. But Saks has been emphasizing a wider range of categories and price points, attracting a broader demographic, and has been aggressive trying to build business online. Saks stores house many more leased designer shops than Neiman’s, which has long been reluctant to open leased shops but in recent seasons has opened some.
By virtue of its Fifth Avenue flagship being a major tourist attraction, Saks has more international recognition than Neiman’s. In fiscal 2025, the flagship saw nearly 3 million shoppers from over 150 countries, and generated three times the amount of business as the largest Neiman Marcus stores, according to Saks Global.
As van Raemdonck pointed out, Neiman’s has maintained its focus on its wealthiest customers, through exclusive offerings, personal service and VIP-type events. Neiman’s has a track record of providing deeper, broader assortments of each of the top luxury collections it sells, and has a stronger selling culture than Saks.
Differentiating the Banners
Regarding the future of Saks and Neiman’s, van Raemdonck said, “We want to separate and differentiate them. As a point of reference, if you take the six markets where Saks and Neiman’s are either in the same mall, or across the street like in Beverly Hills, the overlapping customer is between 10 and 15 percent which [means] the customer is telling us they’re different brands. And in the future, we want to make them even more different, so that there’s a reason to shop in both of them, or to be deeply loyal with one of them.”

Asked how that’s accomplished, van Raemdonck said, “It’s in the positioning. It’s in the expression, in the assortment, and it can be the same brands [sold at both stores], but the assortment should be slightly different,” meaning each having a different merchandise edit.
“The Saks customer likes to express herself through fashion, but she needs a little bit more guidance in choosing the fashion that is right for her,” van Raemdonck said. “The Neiman’s customer is a fashion customer who has her own sense of taste, loves color, and loves newness, and so their way of approaching the same element of fashion and newness is slightly different.”
Discussing Saks Global overall, van Raemdonck boasted, “We have the largest base of highly engaged luxury customers. Fifty to 60 percent of our sales are with customers who shop seven to nine times a year with us, depending on the retail banner. They spend more than $5,000 with us, and we retain more than 80 percent of them. Forty percent of our sales come from customers who spend $10,000 or more with us. And so the majority of our sales are from loyal customers and when you shop seven to nine times a year, you’re deeply loyal. We have a retention rate of 90 percent from top customers.”
One of the big challenges in a bankruptcy is retaining employees and communicating to all constituencies concerned that the company isn’t disappearing and has a future, even in a downsized state.
“We are doing this very, very frequently and very openly, because transparency is critical,” van Raemdonck said. “This morning I was talking with our employees in Bangalore. We have a whole team there that supports us across all functions,” including creative, planning, merchandising and payroll functions. “This Monday, we had what we call an ‘All Access,’ meeting which is our all-employee town hall. We call it All Access because everyone gets a front row seat [it’s a virtual meeting] and everyone gets access to the information.” It’s a monthly event. “And then we meet with our leadership council, the top 50 people in the organization, every other week. And every week, we talk with the ad hoc group of creditors, and we are meeting in person with the unsecured creditor committee [Thursday] to share with them our business plans. So the communication is very, very frequent. We communicate with brands on a very frequent basis, at my level, and then Lana [Todorovich, chief global brands partnerships officer] is with the brands on a daily basis.

“We have more than 1,500 sales associates who sell at least $1 million per year and in aggregate deliver more than $2.8 billion of revenue,” the CEO added. “Over the last 12 months, our attrition rate amongst top sellers that sell more than $3 million annually is in the low-single digits.”

There was a REAL shop steward who carried more weight on his shoulders than anyone realized. Some say he was about to become the chief shop steward He was a really good steward and a good person who endured unimaginable loss. He turned the K&L bay around on all three shifts, and back then everyone knew it—people were disappointed and very very angry before he stepped in, and he fought every day to close the wage gap, improve health insurance, and push for better retirement. Fair and equal pay used to be the core of what the/a union stood for. Cell leaders back then would tell him GE will close the doors have to remain competitive and he would tell them no one would care look at the place plus who else makes the product we make.
But every contract, more was taken away. The D-rates were treated like gold while the T-rates were treated like third-class citizens for the first 4-5 years. With everything he was dealing with personally, it’s no surprise he acted the way he did. He said you only live once try to make it better like GE use to be. He masked the trauma very well members would ask him how he keeps going? But he still showed up and fought the fight 100% with those scars.
No one really knew what he was going through deep down. But everyone knew what happened in his life at that time even The not so HUMAN resources, personnel aka Nicole and Jason.
He didn’t take a sever-ties package. He just needed a break. He resigned with a full month’s notice. After seeing 200 people or so loose their jobs. Co workers the union brotherhood he fought everyday to make waves on split pay scale and T Rates getting treated like rubbish. Versus D rates getting treated like gold.
Fast forward-
When hiring picked back up again I told him to reapply. He got an interview a few years ago, but it sank immediately. He interviewed with Nicole from HR and he said she clearly wasn’t happy she stopped in her tracks when she asked him his name she was shocked he was even in the room—she just went through the interview motions. He knew right then he wasn’t getting back in.
I also spoke to HR—Nicole and Jason—before that interview. They told me directly that they would never let him back in. He was blackballed.
There is nothing “human” about a Human Resources department that treats people this way. They’ve always been against the union, and this is just one more example! So think twice! Don’t fight the fight! Be a puppet let the union leadership make back door deals.

He used to be a shop steward who was steady, calm, and genuinely committed to the job. Then his life was hit with two devastating tragedies: first his mother was ki-led, and not long after, his 15-year-old daughter was ki-led. Even through that grief, he continued to show up and fight for the members.

During the 2017–2018 layoffs, he finally resigned. He was dealing with overwhelming loss and felt stuck in a cycle he couldn’t break. His therapist suggested that stepping away for a while might help him move forward after the two tragedies that happened just a year and a half apart.

When hiring picked back up, he reapplied again late last year He interviewed with the bar shop cell leader, who was highly impressed with him and specifically needed someone with his experience and leadership in the bar shop. Despite that strong recommendation to HUMAN resources department Jason and his proven track record as a go‑getter who always went 100% for the union, HR (Jason) still blackballed him.

No second chance, no acknowledgment of what he had been through—just a closed door. No chance to show how he overcame tragedy and was resilient to overcome adversity. Only a strong person who brought the good fight for the cause to make things better.

He’s a very good man with a very good heart who endured unimaginable loss but yet still tried making things better for the split pay scale, no pension issue and better healthcare. And now he’s permanently shut out by Jason in HR. A real example of how even the strongest union supporters can be written off for reasons that have nothing to do with their work quality.

All the so called friends he had that he represented only a couple reaches out to see how he is doing. Only a few even say hi in public.

He was a steward of around 25 members. Managment did not mess with his crew to much. I’ve seen managers and cell leaders shake when he was around them. Ops leaders and cell leaders hardly came down when the legend was around. Now look at the place only if he could see it now and laugh at the union weakness.

Long live the legend who raised he-l and didn’t back down for the membership for the cause. We need the legend back!

Some of the news feeds reporting 18 months and other generous offerings?

Nothing has changed except headcount.
A little lower, still much more headroom to cut. Applications causing slowness in employee work (see AGS). Many office employees provide little to no value. Same old RTO complaints now have evolved to badging in and going home shortly after with no HR ability to counter. No corporate AI strategy as of March 2026, No PQ strategy as of March 2026 how is that possible? People that are not capable of keeping up with any communication methods yet they remain employed here. This place is a zoo at this moment in time.

Do not come to T-mobile especially if you would be in the northeast region. Your job will be threatened every day. Your Salesforce will be monitored and if it doesn't match your outlook you'll be threatened again. But there will be a lot of job openings cuz everyone is leaving.

Just got word that anyone hired after April 1st 2026 will not be receiving a pension. They will only get a 401 for retirement. First they took the personal multiplier, now this. Wonder what’s next for the Last 75. Probably going to push the 25-30 year guys out..

So there is a lawsuit over BYOD+ which is probably going to be class action. Basically illegal bait and switching. So if you’re a rep doing this instead of upgrading their phone traditionally you are illegally bait and switching. 0 usage reports are being reviewed at 30/60/90 days. Already heard about terminations of both reps and their managers. So if you want to protect your job make sure you are presenting a quote for standard upgrade as well and explaining the price difference. There’s a reason they stripper it down to just the google pixel abruptly. So tread lightly with Samsung being back part of it

After 90% of the MLT was let go in December. Whether you liked them or not everything has gone to sh-t. But today embarks on the official end. The last person standing in Marketing ALedgister was let go. For all of us left in Marketing and are Marketing people, today marks a sad day. She was an amazing leader, she stood up for the right things and defended her people. The global campaign team did not exist before her. She was a fearless leader. Now we’ve been dismantled even more and are stuck with the two worst human beings ever. Marcus and Lindsay are snakes, truly horrible people. From the moment Rita left they planted the seeds and tried to take over. If OpenText stood by what they said when they got rid of the MLT and moved out toxic people and culture why are M&L still here? It’s a sad day when new leaders one, don’t know anything about marketing and two rids those who do just to look smarter. For us who are left, good luck to us, because we are certainly in for a ride.

How is it that a bargaining unit in New Jersey gets 5% a year for 3 years (plus a sign-on bonus of 1% each year for a total of 18%) ???
I got a lousy 2.5% ! Most people got 2 - 3%.
Obviously the New Jersey crime syndicate is alive and well in that union.

Yep

Anytime someone offers advice on an exit strategy, its followed by trolling of “Thank you Mr. recruiter” or “thank you LinkedIn headhunter” . I think that most people at Citi enjoy the warmth blanket of group misery. Its easier to swallow and cope with and easier to sell to yourself if you can convince yourself and others that “there’s no use to even try”.

Don’t dare succeed at leaving Citi, that means that it IS possible and I have no excuse for not trying.

Just tons of Citi-philes out there that just can’t stand to hear about someone leaving and being better off. The selling of the lie that you’ll never make more money elsewhere is so predominant on this site speaks volumes to the fear factor some live under.

Be free or be a sheeple.

Atlassian cutting 10%. $ for F1 sponsorship, pink slips for the workforce, perfect partnership for us. So how’s that new BNY / Atlassian merch selling?

Someone I know is an ebilling employee at hertz In ireland and has informed me that they are being laid off as part of a group of 78 people. What's left of this department is left to train workers in India who be training bots to do the ebilling instead.

Was 600+

Trulieve, Florida’s largest medical mari--ana company, announced layoffs. Over 50 employees at a Clearwater call center will be affected. The company cited business restructuring for the permanent mass layoff. This decision followed a report of $1.2 billion in 2025 profits. Trulieve also reported record cash flow last year.

https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/trulieve-announces-mass-layoff-at-clearwater-call-center/amp/

United Source One, a food distribution firm, laid off eight employees. The layoffs occurred on March 4 at its Belcamp facility. A WARN notice was filed on March 11, 2026. The company did not provide a reason for these job cuts. United Source One specializes in exporting American food products internationally.

Belcamp, Maryland

https://whatnow.com/news/trending/26-year-old-food-logistics-firm-cuts-jobs-at-belcamp-site/

Ashley Furniture is closing a production plant. This plant is located in Mesquite. More than 260 employees will be laid off. The company maintains a distribution hub nearby. It hopes some affected workers can transfer there.

Mesquite, Texas

https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2026/03/12/ashley-furniture-layoffs-mesquite-manufacturing.html

Stellantis sued Sky Auto Mall last week. The automaker alleges a $12 million financing fraud. Sky Auto Mall engaged in "double flooring" practices. This involved securing multiple loans for the same vehicles. The dealership subsequently laid off 76 employees.

https://news.dealershipguy.com/p/stellantis-sues-iowa-dealership-over-12m-loan-scheme-layoffs-follow

Cree Lighting is shutting down its Racine, Wisconsin manufacturing operation. The company eliminated 172 positions, with separations starting immediately on March 12. This closure ends all manufacturing activities at the Racine site. Limited business functions, like R&D and sales, will continue there. Cree Lighting cited a "faltering company" exception for not providing 60-day layoff notice.

https://inside.lighting/news/26-03/cree-lighting-furlough-ends-facility-shutdown-layoffs

KBR Services LLC is laying off 758 workers. These job cuts are at Fort Irwin, California. The company cited a decrease in customer work. Layoffs are scheduled to occur by May 6. KBR provides logistics and maintenance support for the military.

Fort Irwin, California

https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/layoffs-kbr-defense-contractor-22073260.php

I think it’s time for the fed to stop doing business with XRX hopefully putting SB, the EC, and the company out of their respective misery. We have sent so many jobs offshore that there should be a penalty.

The U.S. Department of Labor awarded a grant to the Nebraska Department of Labor. This grant totals $1,671,239 for employment and training services. It assists individuals affected by the Tyson Foods Inc. plant closure. Tyson Foods closed its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska. This closure resulted in 3,200 worker layoffs.

Lexington, Nebraska

https://www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/dol-awards-1-6m-in-assistance-after-tyson-beef-plant-layoffs

Are you a store manager on an action plan? I would start looking for a new job. Action plans are one step away from termination.