Thread regarding Macy's Inc. layoffs

For a single title what are managers and store managers called?

Means something like this, this is nothing exact only a general example:

Manager=stock options level 1, bonus structure level 1
Director=stock option 2, stock option level 2, mid class travel, 6 month severence
VP= elevated stock options, elevated bonus structures, executive level travel, 1 yr severence

So previously store manager=VPSM which entitled them to executive level job perks. Promotions were focused on salary increase. With 1 title they are no longer structured to recieved the perks VP level executives recieve. This allows for promotions to not be based solely on salary as well. It more defines executive levels within a company.

What does this mean? "We are completing the work we began last year on titles and compensation. The entire company is now on a single title and compensation structure that will better allow career progression and consistent assessment across the company.

Team,
As you know from other communications, today we launched the Macy’s, Inc. Polaris strategy. I want to share more detail with you on how this impacts Macy’s Technology.
Over the past year, we’ve made good strides in establishing strong tech operational muscle to support Holiday peak volumes, getting the foundation for cloud enablement developed, and starting on our common services journey.
In looking at the future, our goal is to have modern technology tools and platforms with lower total cost of ownership and higher productivity. In the coming months, we will empower our front-line colleagues with tools to make their jobs easier. We will modernize our technology platforms to support growth and profitability initiatives, and simplify infrastructure to reduce costs.
To get there, we will need to make some significant organizational changes. While this is where we need to go for the business, this is also very difficult because the changes we are making impact our colleagues.
We will close our San Francisco and Lorain offices, and the Macy’s Technology operations within our MCCS facility in Mason, OH. We will also refine the organizational structure of specific teams in Johns Creek to better align to our business strategies. The result includes the departure of many valued colleagues who have made many contributions to the company. I would like to thank our departing colleagues for their contributions and dedication to Macy’s.
Atlanta will become our technology center with offices in Midtown Atlanta and Johns Creek. The work from our closing locations will now be transitioned to Atlanta. This expanded technology hub will allow us to leverage great technology talent and streamline development and support accountabilities into a single VP role. In addition to consolidating support and development responsibility, Senior Director and Director roles will be expanded to include both delivery and operations.
Our refined team structure and geographically-consolidated technology hub will position us to better support the organization by eliminating redundancy of work and providing clearer role responsibilities; enabling us to make decisions faster and operate more quickly; and reducing total cost of ownership.
Additional important details around these changes are as follows:
The new Atlanta office will primarily house our Digital Platforms, Store Systems, and Cloud Platform Technology teams.
The Johns Creek offices will continue to primarily house Compute & Operations, Corporate Systems, Supply Chain & Algo-Retail, Store Systems, and Common Services.
Our support and functional business partners from Product, Enterprise Security, Finance, HR, Corporate Communications, and Procurement will also reside in our Atlanta and/or Johns Creek offices.
The integration of development and support will reside within each of the Technology VPs listed below. This revised structure will provide many colleagues with the opportunity to become full stack engineers.

1. Technology Operations, Data Centers, & Infrastructure
2. Merchandising & Corporate Systems
3. Supply Chain, Algo-Retail, & Contact Center (interim) Systems
4. Digital Platforms, Marketing, Common Services, & Store (interim) systems
5. .Stores & Contact Center systems

Additionally, Portfolio/Capital Management for Technology will move from Product & Digital Revenue to Technology, and the Capital Planning and Technology Governance will be led by Senior Director, and VP
As part of the refinement of our team structure, several teams and many colleagues will change reporting lines, and move to another Sr. Director and/or Director. These colleagues have been notified and we’ll provide more details in the coming week.
As a result of all the changes announced, there will be more than 500 open jobs in Johns Creek and Atlanta. These positions will be posted in the coming weeks.
In 2020, our company will increase capital investments in Technology, and we will initiate new initiatives based on business value. To provide our Technology colleagues the time and opportunity to work on these new projects, we will continue our journey of converting some work to a managed services environment. We will continue to leverage our vendor partnerships in key areas, as the organization is established in Atlanta.
Next week, we’ll come together as a team and I’ll share further details on our revised structure, primary focuses for Q1 and Q2, 2020 goals, and upcoming initiatives. I’ll also answer any questions you may have. In the meantime, your leaders will be connecting with you to share more details on the specific changes to your teams.
I am confident that together, with our refined structure, centralized technology hub, and intense focus on customer experience and platforms modernization, we have set up our Technology team and Macy's, Inc. for success. I appreciate your support as we make these changes and transition into our new responsibilities and structure.
Thank you,

there is also one about the restructure,

Can someone share the CTO message as well in comments? That also was deleted

The best part and the death of all this is the correct use of one word.. that one word spells complete death of big box store.. that one word he used as a growth tool.. that one relic of a word up their with the payphone.. yes.. he said " Mall"

Dear colleagues,

Today was a tough day for Macy’s and our teams. I first want to acknowledge the stress on the organization over the past several weeks and thank each of you for your patience as we finalized our updated 2020 and three-year plan. It was important that we first defined the strategy, then the organizational structure, and then individual roles. Please know that when we are making decisions that impact colleagues’ lives, we operate on the principle of respect. We are thorough about this work and define the impact on each colleague in the organization before communicating.

Let me tell you what we are announcing today. Then I will share the ‘why’ and context on the environment we’re operating in. And then ‘how’ we will move forward together.

What are we announcing?

We are announcing significant structural changes that impact every part of the organization.

We are making deep cuts in almost every area of the business. Every function was required to take a hard look at their organization and reset their cost base. This means the departure of many valued colleagues. I want to thank each impacted colleague for the contributions they have made to the company.

We are making changes on the senior leadership team.

· John Harper is taking on an expanded role as Chief Operations Officer. He will now be responsible for Technology, Supply Chain, and Brand Experience, in addition to Stores.

· Marc Mastronardi will become Chief Stores Officer.

· Danielle Kirgan is taking on an expanded role as Chief Transformation and Human Resources Officer. Danielle will lead our Transformation work at Macy’s, and we will share more detail on this next week. Strategy will also report into Danielle.

We will not be replacing the Macy’s brand President role.

We are consolidating campuses. New York City is the heart of the fashion industry, and we are a fashion retailer. New York will be our sole corporate headquarters as well as the headquarters for our macys.com business. For our New York colleagues, Merchandising teams will stay in midtown to be closer to our brand partners. Corporate, Support, and Backstage teams will move to Long Island City. We are closing our San Francisco, downtown Cincinnati, and Lorain offices. We will be expanding our colleague populations in Progress Place and the Atlanta area.

We are completing the work we began last year on titles and compensation. The entire company is now on a single title and compensation structure that will better allow career progression and consistent assessment across the company.

We are committing to every Macy’s store being brand-right. Our current fleet is too large to maintain at the experience bar that customers have set today, and we are missing market opportunity. Over three years, we will close approximately 125 stores in lower-tier malls. We will continue the Growth treatment of our stores in the best malls, and we will explore off-mall opportunities.

We are also launching a new vision, strategy, and three-year plan, which I will address later in this note.

Why are we doing this?

Looking back, I am proud of the work we have done together. The bulk of our stores are stronger, our digital business is growing, and we’ve put our customer at the center of our business. We have engaged and dedicated colleagues. We executed well during Holiday 19, and we take that with us into the new year. We have a lot on our side.

However, while we have shown that we can drive top-line sales, we have seen a continued compression of profitability, and that is something we urgently need to address. You will hear us talk about ‘balanced growth.’ Balanced growth requires focus on both the top-line (sales) and bottom-line (profitability).

The significant structural changes – including the reductions in headcount and campus consolidation – are painful, but they are required to reset our fixed cost base, which is the only way we can grow profitably. Having reset our cost base, we need to avoid our past situation where our costs were growing faster than our sales. We all need to work with a mindset of frugality and continuous improvement.

Competition is fierce. The retail world and our customers are still moving faster than we are. Constant innovation is required. We need to treat change as not being event-based, but as a discipline that helps us transform our company.

How will we do this?

We all know, there is a negative sentiment on department stores. But who better to change that sentiment than Macy’s, Inc.?

I have a clear perspective on where Macy’s, Inc. and our brands – Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury – fit into retail today. And we have a clear vision for the Macy’s brand.

Macy’s is proudly America’s department store. Our customers come to us for fashion. They come to us for value and high-quality products. Macy’s is a brand with heritage, and we play a unique role in American culture and tradition.

We are stepping up to reclaim and re-define what a department store can and should be. We will do this by focusing our resources on the healthy parts of our business and investing in the opportunity to grow where retail is growing today and in the future. This includes off-mall formats, growing customer segments, and new profitable categories.

We will accelerate what is working in the business – Loyalty, Backstage, Destination Businesses, our Growth store treatment, and Mobile.

We have developed new plans in the areas where we have momentum but can improve execution – like Digital.

Importantly, we are also addressing what is not working in the business and taking actions to stabilize profitability in the face of continued headwinds.

Our updated strategy is called Polaris. We chose this name intentionally to reference the points of our past strategy that we are taking with us as drivers of future growth. Tomorrow, we will be sharing Polaris and our three-year plan with the investor community. I want to provide a high-level view with you in advance of our investor meeting.

The Polaris strategy has five points:

1. Strengthen Customer Relationships – We will build customer lifetime value, expand our loyalty program, and accelerate personalization and monetization.

2. Curate Quality Fashion – We will drive disciplined merchandise category roles, be the best destination for the best brands, and balance sales and margin.

3. Accelerate Digital Growth – We will improve the digital experience across both .com and our app, grow our omni-channel customer base, and improve profitability.

4. Optimize our Store Portfolio – We will continue the Growth treatment for stores in the best malls, find ways to profitably expand off-mall, and test and prove a market ecosystem.

5. Reset our Cost Base – We will right-size the organization and expense base, improve our working capital, including faster inventory turns, and balance top-line and bottom-line growth.

Polaris was developed over six months by leaders across the organization. It is comprehensive and addresses the challenges and on-going headwinds we know we will face. It is grounded in a deep understanding of how America shops today and what is unique about Macy’s.

To remain competitive in a constantly changing retail environment, we are required to think and work differently. If we execute the Polaris strategy well, Macy’s will grow with the next generation of American shoppers. On Monday, we will host a company-wide webcast to take you through the details of the Polaris strategy.

This week, your leaders will begin sharing the details of the changes in your teams, clarifying roles and establishing new processes. The senior team has laid out the high-level plan, but we need each colleague to understand their role in the strategy and what they can do to help move the business forward in this important year.

This will be a difficult week for us as we say goodbye to valued colleagues and good friends.