Labor & Employment

Sandpoint, Idaho -- Private equity firm Golden Gate Capital has provided Coldwater Creek with a five-year, $65 million senior secured term loan. The retailer also announced the completion of an amendment to its $70 million revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, which matures on May 16, 2016.

New York – Best Buy is cutting 2,400 employees, including 1,800 store employees and 600 Geek Squad technical support associates, employees, as it seeks to restructure operations, the Associated Press reported.

The layoffs amount to about 1.4% of the company’s total staff of 167,000. A Best Buy spokesman, Bruce Hight, said the cuts were part of the company’s “ongoing turnaround plan,” according to the report.

Best Buy intends to cut 2,400 jobs, including 600 Geek Squad technicians, which would make up 1.4% of its work force, Reuters reported Friday.

According to the report, these cuts are in addition to the job reductions related to the 50 store closings the company announced in March.

Click here to read the full report.

EMERYVILLE, Calif. — Educational toy manufacturer LeapFrog Enterprises announced that chief financial officer Mark Etnyre has resigned from the company in order to spend more time with his family and pursue personal interests. The resignation will be effective as of Oct. 1.

New York -- Ikea has been rebuffed by India on a request to relax rules on buying goods locally, Reuters reported, citing a government source. The rebuff is likely to delay Ikea’s entry into the Indian retail market.

In June, Ikea said it would invest approximately $1.86 billion and open 25 stores in India. But the chain was seeking a 10-year window to comply with India’s rule that foreign retailers source 30% from local small and medium-sized firms. The requirement is seen by overseas companies as a hindrance to investment.

According to the Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate held at 8.2%. Nonfarm payroll employment continued to edge up in June, with 80,000 jobs added.

Professional and business services added 47,000 jobs in June, while health care added 13,000 jobs and wholesale trade added 9,000 in June.

Allegations of worker abuse prompted Walmart to suspend a small seafood supplier earlier this week pending the outcome of an investigation, according to a Reuters report.

Not too long ago, I interviewed Christy Parra, who is the logistics director for The Container Store. The interview was for an article on the company’s deployment of a voice-directed picking system in its distribution center. But what struck me throughout our discussion was the context in which Parra framed the new technology: It had as much to do with the employees as it did efficiencies and cost savings.