Not a Good Way for Our Area to Start 2016!

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

I live in a suburb of Cleveland and we've been having a rough time economically for awhile here. Now we just found out that the Macy's in our area is closing. There was nothing in the article that stated the employees would be placed at other stores. My guess is, it won't be long before the entire mall closes. More and more stores have left and it's like a ghost town in there.

Then yesterday, it was announced that the steel plant is going idle indefinitely and all 200 workers are losing their jobs. Last year this steel mill employeed 1,000 workers but 2 lay-offs in 2015 took that number down to 200. At one point, that mill employeed thousands.

The idling of that plant is going to have a trickle down effect on several other business including restaurants/diners in that area that got the traffic from the mill, convenience stores/gas stations, a barbershop that said they get a lot of mill clients, as well as our city water dept. which will no longer be getting the large monthly payment for the water used at that plant.

What a bummer for the start of 2016!

brii · ‎06-20-2010

What a shame.

The trickle down effect can be devastating...

Shelbelle · ‎03-09-2010

The closest Macy's to me closed recently too, in fact just about our entire mall has closed.

ladyroxanne · ‎03-09-2010

i hope this is not going to affect you or your dh.

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

I live in a small rural area - no malls but maybe 3 or 4 strip malls along the main drag. In the past year we've seen more than a few stores close. In the next week or two our local Belk will shut down. I think it's a sign of the times bc I've been doing more and more online shopping and things get delivered right to the door. The last time I was in northern VA and went to a large mall, it was empty. I'm thinking malls are on the way out.

2blonde · ‎03-10-2010

@Lipstickdiva You should move to the east side (unless you can't take the snow, of course!). Here in Lake County, unemployment is only about 3%. We still have a Macy's at the Great Lakes Mall, and the mall is at full occupancy. I think Mentor is the second largest retail mecca in Ohio.

Laura loves cats!

esmeraldagooch · ‎03-10-2010

This is not just your area. Macy's had problems late last year which they complained on Fox business news was due to weather and Tourism was down.

Interestingly, last year they were down due to cold weather, now it's warm weather.

Macy’s, Inc. today announced a series of cost-efficiency and process improvement measures to be implemented beginning in early 2016 that will reduce SG&A expense by approximately $400 million while still investing in growth strategies, particularly in omnichannel capabilities at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. The actions represent progress toward the company’s previously stated goal of re-attaining over time an EBITDA rate as a percent of sales of 14 percent.

To address the need for greater efficiency and productivity, among the changes being implemented by Macy’s, Inc. in early 2016 are:

Adjusting staffing levels at each Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s store in line with current sales volume to increase productivity and improve efficiency. An average of three to four positions will be affected in each of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s approximately 770 going-forward stores (out of an average workforce of approximately 150 associates in each store), for a total of about 3,000 affected associates nationwide. Roughly 50 percent of affected store associates are expected to be placed in other positions.
Implementing a voluntary separation opportunity for about 165 senior executives in Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s central stores, office and support functions who meet certain age and service requirements and chose to leave the company beginning in spring 2016. Approximately 35 percent of these executive positions will not be replaced.
Reducing an additional 600 positions in back-office organizations by eliminating tasks, simplifying processes and combining positions, with about 150 of these associates reassigned to other positi

And this

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-macys-holiday-stores-close-20160106-story.html

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

All one needs do is look at what happened to manufacturing in our country. Any reasonable business thinking person knows why they are gone.

Why did most manufacturers move to other countries? Why are most of these same companies not moving back to the USA? I am not a business major, but I started out very young handling my own money, and that of several local restaurants, before I was old enough to drive(16).

I also spent 33 years working in a major manufacturing plant, on many different jobs. For me it is not difficult to see the why's and what'fors businesses have left. Similarly, I also understand why they are not coming back.

Manufacturing absence in our country eventually trickles down to all of us in many things we buy. This I learned from big ticket purchases. One company that supplies parts for building a new car leaves? Jobs go with it as do taking longer to get a vehicle built.

Anyone remember auto parts manufacturers strikes? I do, and without certain parts, the assembly lines come to a halt. This equals workers temporarily laid off, or worse.

Fortunately, 2016 is the year of a BIG decision for every USA citizen. If you are not sure why companies left our country and why they may not come back? There is plenty of time to do research to find these answers.

hckynut(john)

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@2blonde wrote:
@Lipstickdiva You should move to the east side (unless you can't take the snow, of course!). Here in Lake County, unemployment is only about 3%. We still have a Macy's at the Great Lakes Mall, and the mall is at full occupancy. I think Mentor is the second largest retail mecca in Ohio.

I love the snow and I would move in a heart beat. It's my husband that's the hold out.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
I live in a suburb of Cleveland and we've been having a rough time economically for awhile here. Now we just found out that the Macy's in our area is closing.  There was nothing in the article that stated the employees would be placed at other stores. My guess is, it won't be long before the entire mall closes. More and more stores have left and it's like a ghost town in there.

Then yesterday, it was announced that the steel plant is going idle indefinitely and all 200 workers are losing their jobs.   Last year this steel mill employeed 1,000 workers but 2 lay-offs in 2015 took that number down to 200. At one point, that mill employeed thousands.

The idling of that plant is going to have a trickle down effect on several other business including restaurants/diners in that area that got the traffic from the mill, convenience stores/gas stations, a barbershop that said they get a lot of mill clients, as well as our city water dept. which will no longer be getting the large monthly payment for the water used at that plant.

What a bummer for the start of 2016!

I'm not sure how large your suburb is, but the ONLY thing your local Chamber of Commerce should be doing is trying to attract new business into your area. Do you know if anyone is working on this? In spite of things winding down, there ARE businesses out there that are growing. JMO