Also I heard on radio new story that HD said that this would not affect an store employees.
“Home Depot said Monday it will cut 7,000 jobs â€â€ including 500 at its Atlanta headquarters â€â€ and shutter all 34 of its Expo design centers.
The company, battling the recession and housing industry collapse, said about 5,000 of the cuts will come from the closings of the Expo stores and another 14 outlets specializing in yard or bath remodeling supplies.
Another 2,000 will come from a restructuring of âہ“store supportâ€Â functions. Those will include the headquarters cuts.
The cuts amount to a little over 2 percent of the total workforce. The company also said it is freezing the salaries of all corporate officers, although it will continue offering merit raises for other workers and will maintain its 401(k) match.”
“In addition to the remaining 34 Expo stores â€â€ two of them in north metro Atlanta â€â€ the latest closings include two Design Centers, five Yardbirds locations and seven HD Bath locations.
The company has nearly 2,000 of its flagship Home Depot stores in the United States, with more than 300,000 employees. In Mondayâ€â„¢s announcement the company said it plans to open 12 new retail centers this year.
Under Chief Executive Frank Blake, who was installed in early 2007, Home Depot has focused hard on rebuilding service at those core retail centers.”
“Blake said Expo never did as well as hoped, even during the housing boom when higher-end furnishings and projects were hot.
âہ“Even during the boom years of the housing market, EXPO did not do well financially and isnâ€â„¢t expected to anytime soon, despite the best efforts of our associates,â€Â he said in the memo. âہ“In fact, we were projecting an $80 million loss for the business in 2009. With big ticket design and dÃĩcor product demand down substantially, this business just does not make sense to continue. It drains resources away from our core orange box business, and thatâ€â„¢s not something we should do in this environment.â€Â
The company said any Expo projects under way will be completed, while customers will be refunded retainers or supplies expenses for work not yet started.”
“The company early last year also announced it was closing 15 under-performing Home Depot stores and shelving plans for 50 new stores. The company also laid off nearly 1,000 employees in a restructuring of human resources operations.
Home Depot made no cutback announcements in the second half of 2008, as the economy worsened.
Blake has already shed one major non-core unit, the HD Supply business that sold major construction materials to big contractors and governments.Under Blake Home Depot also closed a landscape supply division and flooring stores.”
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid – Shoe
Replies
I'll bet half the people working at the HD closest to my house can't even spell Home Depot, good luck to them 'returning service' to the retail centers...
Blowe's is just as bad.
Edited 1/26/2009 1:30 pm ET by TaunTonMacoute
Funny you should say that. For a while around here, the HD was blown away by Lowes service, now they seem to be slippin' and HD is coming back strong.
Well here theres so much difference in offerings , once youve been to Lowes , Home Depot is out of any competition. Its not even close for a remodeler that does it all. Theres no reason I need to ever enter another home depot with lowes around . Im not talking about service .
Tom, that might be true.
I will relate what happened to me several years ago about what soured me on them. I bought some of their fencing. I used another competitor price and asked them to honer their guarentee of matching -10%. They did on the first 15 sections of fencing. A change in plan made it necessary for me to get 2 more sections. They refused to honor the previous price, even though I showed them the advertisement again.. The store manager was called into the ensueing arguement, I lost.
I have been in Lowes exactly twice since. If there is something I need, that is not in stock at HD or reg lumber yards, HD will order with no problem!
I guess I am hard headed.
Thats some stinkin thinkin you have goin on.
That has cost you over time and them to no avail. You hurt them a little but it has hurt you worse. A trader never considers having a trail behind him end.
Ive got a problem right now with the door shop not turning out my orders from my local lumber yard. Ive been waiting 6 weeks for a metal prehung unit with an oval glass light in the door . I use them because they are local and that means I get loaded in the mornings and pull out to the job. I haul most all of my stuff pulling my trailers . They load the trailers and I work off the trailer until its unloaded normally. The tool trailer is on the job and I keep a material trailer hooked to the truck so to speak. Its easy. Now I cant get doors for some damn reason . Lowes Commercial sales called and they asked if they could help me . I havent been using them lately. So I asked about doors . They have always been johny on the spot with their order times on cabinets and doors for me so I asked . They could get what I wanted in a week. The job would have been done by now . Instead Im paying out money every day out of my pocket becuase that damn job isnt done . Its ridiculas . They will have all my door business after this episode. If I had not been in contact with them I would not have that knowledge .
I was putting in an oak stairway and ordered all the parts from my local lumber yard. I got the parts and they were all shid . The ballasters werent primed or true round. Scratched and even dented as I found out when I started sanding them to prime . I was short an oak step. So I headed over to Lowes to see what they had. They had a lot nicer stuff . Their ballasters were already primed , in a plastic package in singles and perfect milling . I went to the front and talked to my commercial sales guy . He made me a deal that was cheaper than the lumber yard . I got better stuff and sent the other order back to its vendor. That was a 10 thousand dollar stair order.
Tim
Edited 1/27/2009 11:54 am by Mooney
Our local lumber yard went high end. Special orders, stange molding etc, they are the place to go. If you want to pay $1 more for studs or other limber there is the place to go. Personnaaly I don't have a problem with HD lumber, just cut the #### for nailers etc. I sure wouldn't cut the locals studs for nailors.
Anyways, like I said before, HD is closer and the people are very dervice orriented right now, next week, who knows!
I'm not sure why the Expo's are closing. I was only in one, but it seemed like it actually had stuff that you would want in your home.
John
In addition HD is also closing their five San Francisco Bay Area "Home Depot / Yardbirds" stores. Although I feel for the employees (I have been through 3 layoffs since 1992), I have to admit I will take advantage of whatever sales that they will have and make some pro-longed tool purchases now."Projects beget projects and projects beget the need to buy new tools and that is what the cycle of life is all about."
Depot competes against themselves. There are over 20 stores within 30 miles of my house.... That's alot of overhead and inventory. Expect them to continue shrinking for the foreseeable future.
If you didn't mind taking out a second mortgage to pay for it....kinda pricey.
I'm not sure why the Expo's are closing. I was only in one, but it seemed like it actually had stuff that you would want in your home.
-------------------Because they charge twice what they should be charging for the install.ML
We got a new depot in December. Friendly people, have what I need and the illegals haven't found it yet so I don't have them meeting me at my truck when i get out!.ML
So this means that Depot will only be selling junk to the middle class, as opposed to the affluent too?
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
LOL..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
I haven't seen an Expo Design Center any where in years. They were all closed in Texas first.
Every car, truck and tractor in America should run on natural gas- it's the future.
They closed maybe a 1/4 of them about 5 years ago including the one in Kansas City.At the time said that they where keeping the ones that made money.Now they are saying that they never made money..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
What is an expo center ? Im not sure Ive ever seen one living in this small town.
Tim
The Expo was a high end HD that was most limited to "finishes".For example instead of light fixture running from $20 to $150, they may run from $100 to $750..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
I have been in a couple of them and walked out . <G>
Thanks .
Tim
Tim;
Its a store full of higher end stuff than is at a normal Home Depot. Very nice sinks, tile, lighting, tubs, etc - the one I've been to even peddled some really nice looking high end cabinets, vanities and stuff like that.
With the higher end, higher prices...The older I get, the better I was....
#### HD.
I'm glad the fat cats that suck all the money out of a neighborhood and only bring low paying jobs are getting hurt. I'm sorry for the employees.
I shop most of the time at a local employee owned lumber yard. The employees live in my neighborhood. They spend their money in the neighborhood which creates more opportunities for me and my other neighbors.
When you shop at a corporate store the money leaves town quick, on it's way to Wall Street where the top guys get their golden parachutes while they steal all the money the shareholders should be getting.
Is that any way to treat your neighbors?
Goodbye Circuit City, Best Buy, Yardbirds, Expo, Ford, Chevy, damn you, goodbye.
Old Bas###d
"Ford, Chevy, damn you, goodbye."So there should be an autombile manufacturing plant in every neighborhood?.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
We have NUMI here. They used to make the Toy-let, the Chevy Nova, Toyota Corolla. I think they make Toyota trucks now.
We also have the Tesla, not that anyone can afford one.
My point was that corporate malfeasance is bad, and greed can lead to an untimely demise. Some companies strive to build a better product while some just sue so they can continue to make cr#p. Some companies invest in the neighborhoods they are located in knowing where their strength lies, the employees.
Just look at how hard the American car makers fought the seat belt laws back in the '50's. They claimed they would go out of business. Ha. Now they claim they can't make cars that get better mileage. Ha.
OB
You mean New United Motor in Fremont? I took a couple of tours of that plant back in the day. Very cool. They were making maybe 3-4 different models at the time, a Chevy, a Toyota, a couple of others I don't remember.
"
115734.20 in reply to 115734.1
#### HD.
I'm glad the fat cats that suck all the money out of a neighborhood and only bring low paying jobs are getting hurt. I'm sorry for the employees.
I shop most of the time at a local employee owned lumber yard. The employees live in my neighborhood. They spend their money in the neighborhood which creates more opportunities for me and my other neighbors."
Thats really nice in theory.
My basement pump stopped for the second time in 17 years last night .
The first time it quit I called our neighborhood hardware store owner and he opened up for me . The pump didnt work. So I waited until morning and got my whole basement flooded. [ruined] Last night it quit again so to the hardware store I went . They didnt have a half horse pump so I bought their 1/4 hp pump and it didnt work at all.
Price of 1/4 hp pump was 125.00 my cost.
I then went to Atwoods which is a nation wide chain hardware , farm store. Price of 1/4 pump was 56.00. They had several 1/2 hp pumps to choose from as well so I bought MR heavy duty type which was cast iron. Price of that pump was 139.00. It removed 4 inchs of water in the basement in an hour. I just saw it run a few minutes ago.
Tim