This came completely out of the blue (at least to everybody at my store,) so how do we know more will not follow in a month or two? As a matter of fact, do we even know if this round is over, or could more people be notified today or later this week?
I believe that this made me paranoid, whether is justified or not I don't know. What I do know is that from now on, job security no longer exists at B&N.
Hey there! Just a lowly Children's Lead here with no special insider knowledge — just speculation.
I agree with @oev, but I think it's going to be a race between store closings and the next round of layoffs. My guess is that store closing will happen very shortly after inventory. Children's Leads, Cafe Leads, and probably ASMs (if there are more than one at a store) are most likely next. I'm guessing these positions will be gone in the next 1-2 months. But again, that's just my guess.
To those left behind (and this includes part-timers), take this friendly bit of advice: You need to start looking for a job now. You probably should have started yesterday.
I know I did.
From Demon Parneros Q2 earnings call: Our real estate team and our stores team is squarely focused on making the best decisions for the long term and really taking a hard look at the performance and productivity of each of the stores. If the store is our underperformer, we won't hesitate closing it. Our goal, as we stated at the last meeting, is to be net positive in stores starting next year.
So yes, this isn’t over- it’s just the beginning. Mass store closings are coming- look at the pattern of other big box retailers. Cut inventory way back, don’t replace full time positions as they are lost to attrition, layoff the remaining full timers in a couple of rounds, cut staff down to bare bones, then close “underperforming” stores. 100-120 leases up each year, and in some cases, cheaper to buy out the lease rather than keep the store operating. They have one goal- net positivity. More casualties to come.
Expect anything at this point. The company is going under. If I were you, I'd start looking for a new job now so you don't have to risk unemployment. That's what I'm doing, anyways. Better safe than sorry.