Federated to Cut Up to 6,200 Jobs, Drop Marshall F
Cincinnati, OH, September 21, 2005--Federated Department Stores said it is planning to cut up to 6,200 jobs beginning next year and change all 62 Marshall Field's stores to the Macy's name in the fall of 2006 in its biggest steps yet since completing its acquisition of May Department Stores.
The company also said it will shed the Philadelphia-based bridal group division it acquired from May and is studying what to do with its Lord & Taylor division.
About 4,500 positions will be eliminated beginning in March as Federated phases out May's divisional operations in Boston, Houston, Arlington, Va., and Los Angeles. The remaining 1,700 cuts will be in St. Louis at May's corporate offices.
Federated had pledged not to cut any jobs before March 1 as part of its acquisition of its rival.
The job cuts are the first announced since Federated completed in August its $11.9 billion acquisition of rival May. The deal for May combined more than 1,000 stores with $30 billion in annual sales.
The retailer said previously that it was eliminating 10 May nameplates and that it was studying whether to keep the name of Marshall Field's, a Chicago landmark. "We have great respect for the legacy and traditions of Marshall Field's, and we carefully researched customer preferences and studied alternatives before making this decision to incorporate Marshall Field's into the nationwide Macy's brand," Federated chief executive Terry Lundgren said in a statement.
Marshall Field's has stores in eight states in the Midwest.
The cuts and name changes are intended to build the nationwide Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands while reducing costs by $175 million in 2006 and $450 million in 2007 and beyond, Federated said.
