Has retail permanently downsized?
By George Anderson in Retailwire
The number of people filing for first-time unemployment claims reached 1.416 million last week, an increase of 109,000 over the previous week, according to statistics released by the Department of Labor. How many of those worked in retail is not known, but there’s no doubt that the novel coronavirus pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the industry with little guarantee that many or even most of the jobs lost to date will ever come back.
The number of retail workers laid off or furloughed has left 1.9 million store associates looking for other ways to pay the bills. CNBC reports that 1.1 million of those currently unemployed are considered temporary, but when or if they will be brought back on the job remains to be seen.
The article points to the growing list of retailing chains that have filed for bankruptcy and announced store closings even as reports of others on the Chapter 11 brink continue to pop up. Headquarters and regional office positions have not been safe either, as evidenced by Macy’s recent announcement that it was cutting 3,900 corporate jobs. ... "
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