Nov 12, 2008 6:37 pm US/Mountain
QVC Announces Workforce Reduction Plans
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) ―
QVC, Inc. has become the latest company to announce cutbacks in the wake of the economic crisis.
The company laid off 160 employees Wednesday and it plans to eliminate hundreds more over the next year.
"We remain committed to managing our company for the long term as we navigate this unprecedented economic crisis," said Mike George, QVC's president and CEO. "To ensure we're operating as efficiently as possible, we made difficult decisions to lower our operating costs while taking several steps to invest in our future and better serve our customers."
The company's West Chester, Pennsylvania distribution center will be phased out over the next 14 months eliminating 500 positions over time and there are plans to close its West Chester Call Center on or about March 27, 2009, resulting in the elimination of approximately 250 jobs.
105 of the 160 employees laid off Wednesday are from West Chester.
"I'm pretty banged up, not so much for myself, but for all the people I worked with for 14 years, you get to know them, they're like family, you know what they go through, you know that they need the job that they have," employee Nick Mascherino said.
The impacted employees have reportedly been offered an enhanced severance package.
Other changes include refocusing the Lancaster Distribution Center on Health and Beauty products and also serve as a centralized returns center for Apparel, Accessories, Health and Beauty.
According to George, they will convert their Florence, S.C. Distribution Center into a state-of-the-art facility while create approximately 200 positions. They also plan to shift the majority of its Home product lines to its Rocky Mount, N.C., and Suffolk, Va., Distribution Centers.
The job eliminations and shifts will leave the company with a reduction of 5.8 percent of their U.S. workforce.
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