Home improvement retailer Lowe's has notified its U.S. workforce that a company-wide restructuring will result in changes for about 2,400 employees.
According to a letter sent by company CEO Robert Niblock, Lowe's has made changes in its leadership structure and adopted a new staffing model to "align store staffing with customer demand, shift resources from back-of-the-store activities to customer-facing ones, and enhance our efficiency and productivity."
The changes impact the company's stores, customer support centers, distribution centers and corporate offices.
Lowe's is shifting roles and responsibilities rather than eliminating them, a move that allows the "vast majority" of associates impacted by the changes to apply for new roles. Due to the new staffing model, Niblock's letter said one or two assistant store manager positions would be eliminated per store.
Consolidation of leadership roles at Lowe's contact and distribution centers will impact 37 employees and ten percent of the company's vice presidents at the corporate office.
"It is always difficult to make decisions that affect our people, but sometimes they are necessary as we build for the future and meet the evolving needs of customers," Niblock wrote to his workforce. "We greatly appreciate and value the contributions made by the individuals impacted by this plan and will be providing them with a transition package including severance, outplacement resources and other support."
Karen Cobb, a spokesperson for Lowe's, said the company would continue to invest in its future, saying it planned to add 15 to 20 new stores in each of the next three years and create an estimated 4,000 jobs in that time span.
