Kohl's eliminating around 250 positions in corporate restructuring

Kohl's Corp. is eliminating around 250 positions in a company restructuring that the Menomonee Falls-based retailer said will improve efficiency.

The eliminated positions are across the organization at the corporate level, Kohl's Senior Vice President of Communications Jen Johnson said in a statement Wednesday.

The reductions affect workers at the Menomonee Falls headquarters, offices in New York and California, and other regional positions.

"The departures include removing a layer of regional store leadership roles and positions, restructuring teams in our merchant organization, and changes to other positions in our corporate offices," Johnson said.

Those whose roles were eliminated were notified Wednesday. In most cases, the last day of payroll is Feb. 29. The affected workers were offered "a competitive severance package and outplacement services," Johnson said.

"This reorganization in our business will empower decision-making, reduce management layers, streamline communications and drive greater efficiency in many areas of our business," Johnson said.

Kohl's said it is continuing to hire in key areas and investing in the stores, technology and strategic growth initiatives. It is not closing any stores.

"The organizational changes we’ve made are driven by the evolution of our strategic business priorities to create a more agile and empowered organization to support our long-term sustainable growth," Johnson said.

In a tough market for traditional retailers, Kohl's reported in January that its holiday sales were down from last year for the 2019 season. Sales in November and December 2019 decreased 0.2%. Competitors J.C. Penney Co. and Macy's Inc. have recently announced store closures and corporate layoffs following declining sales.

Kohl's offered buyouts to salaried and hourly employees in a voluntary role reduction last year. At the time, Kohl's said it was not seeking a specific number of departures. The company cut 60 technology jobs as part of a restructuring in 2018.

Kohl's employs around 130,000 people with thousands working at its headquarters and Milwaukee-area stores. It has more than 1,100 stores in the U.S.

Kohls will release its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2019 earnings March 3. It will hold an investor day March 16.

Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com/bemke.