Home Depot Eliminating Expo Business

Atlanta, GA, Jan 26, 2009--In another sign of the worsening economic downturn, Home Depot Inc. said Monday that it is abandoning its Expo design and décor business, closing stores and laying off thousands of employees.

Home Depot said that Expo has "not performed well financially and is not expected to anytime soon. Even during the recent housing boom, it was not a strong business."

And, it has "weakened significantly as the demand for big-ticket design and decor projects has declined in the current economic environment."

Over the next two months, the company will close 34 Expo Design Center stores, five YardBIRDS stores, two Design Center stores and a bath remodeling business known as HD Bath, with seven locations. All told, that will result in the loss of about 5,000 jobs.

"Streamlining" some support functions will cost another 2,000 positions for a total of about 2% of the company's workforce.