Labor & Employment

With Congress in recess this week, legislators can finally take a break from the grind of D.C. politics – fighting with the other party, fighting with their own party, and of course, the spotlight of a relentless national media. But in a lot of cases, members may have it better in D.C. than back home.   

The country’s unemployment rate fell to 4.5% in March, but a volatile retail landscape continues to negatively impact merchant’s payrolls.    The U.S. economy added 98,000 jobs last month, versus 180,000 expected by economists surveyed by Reuters.   However, the number of unemployed persons declined by 326,000 to 7.2 million.  

The fashion retailer known for its bold, colorful designs is losing its chief executive.   Benetton Group’s Marco Airoldi will resign as of May 16. The board accepted his resignation on Tuesday.   Airoldi joined the company in 2013 – first as a consultant, then as CEO and managing director. During his tenure, he has contributed to the definition and subsequent launch of the company’s refocus and relaunch plan, which targets a selection of markets, stores and the Benetton Group brands. 

Academy Sports + Outdoors is bolstering its executive team.   The sporting good chain appointed Sam Johnson as its executive VP of retail operations, effective April 24. In his new role, Johnson will oversee the day-to-day operations of Academy's more than 225 stores, as well as lead the store support team.  

Bartel Drugs is on the hunt for a new CEO.   Brian Unmacht resigned his post two weeks ago after two years on the job, senior communications manager Ric Brewer confirmed to Drug Store News.   “He left Bartells two-weeks ago to pursue professional and personal goals that he has,” Brewer said. “Our Executive Team is now running day-to-day operations until the search for a new CEO begins.”  

Rue21 could be the next chain headed toward bankruptcy.   The teen apparel retailer, which is backed by private equity firm Apax Partners, is preparing to file for bankruptcy as soon as this month, according to Bloomberg.    

Coach Inc. has tapped a 26-year fashion veteran to lead the company as its expands its brand portfolio.   Joshua Schulman has been named president and CEO of the Coach brand, effective June 5. In this newly created role, Schulman will be responsible for all aspects of the brand globally, reporting directly to Victor Luis, CEO of Coach, Inc. This new leadership structure follows the 2015 acquisition of Stuart Weitzman, and is an important step in Coach, Inc.’s evolution as a customer-focused, multi-brand organization, the retailer said.

Amazon continues its hiring spree.    The company announced Thursday that it plans to add more than 30,000 part-time positions in the United States over the next year.  The new positions are on top of the previously announced 100,000 full-time U.S. jobs Amazon will add during the next 18 months.   Some 5,000 of the new part-time hires will be in Amazon’s  Virtual Customer Service program, which offers employees the flexibility to work from home as a customer service agent.