Workforce Management

New York — Last-minute holiday shoppers will have some help from Macy’s this year, as the retailer plans keep most of its stores open 48 hours straight the weekend before Christmas, from 7 a.m. Dec. 21 through 7 a.m. on Dec. 23.

The 48-hour shopping marathon coincides with Macy’s final scheduled One-Day Sale of the year, which concludes at 7 a.m., Dec. 23. While the sale ends Sunday morning, 57 stores will remain open 24 hours or offer extended late hours until close on Christmas Eve.

NEW YORK — Last minute holiday shoppers will have some help from Macy’s this year, as the retailer plans keep most of its stores open 48 hours straight the weekend before Christmas, from 7 a.m. Friday, December 21 through 7 a.m. Sunday, December 23.

The 48-hour shopping marathon coincides with Macy’s final scheduled One-Day Sale of the year, which concludes at 7 a.m. Sunday, December 23. While the sale ends Sunday morning, 57 stores will remain open 24 hours or offer extended late hours until close on Christmas Eve.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM announced Tuesday the closing of its acquisition of Kenexa, a provider of recruiting and talent management solutions, for approximately $1.3 billion.

IBM said that Kenexa complements its strategy of bringing relevant data and expertise into the hands of business leaders within every functional department, from sales and marketing to product development and human resources.

ATLANTA — Former Home Depot executive Michael Esposito has joined HoneyBaked as its new VP, human resources, a newly created position. Esposito previously served as director of associate relations for the Home Depot’s northern division.

Beijing -- Starbucks Coffee Co. advanced its growth plans in China with the opening of its 100th store in Beijing. The company also announced the launch of Starbucks China University, its talent development program.

Starbucks has announced that China will be its second largest market by 2014 and will have 1,500 stores by 2015 across more than 70 cities. It currently operates 700 locations throughout Mainland China.”

New York -- The National Labor Relations Board Federal was not expected to decide before Thursday on whether to seek an injunction on behalf of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to stop a union-backed group from encouraging employee walk-outs that are expected to culminate Friday and include protests and rallies outside its stores.

New York -- For the second year in a row, Nordstrom topped the list of retail companies that keep their employees happiest, followed by Macy’s and OfficeMax, according to an annual survey by CareerBliss. The ranking takes into account employee reviews of their employer based on work-life balance, senior management compensation, benefits and job security.

Walmart has taken heat for violating some unwritten retail rule about not opening on Thanksgiving, but on Thursday it extended a benefit that many employees will find appealing.

Walmart has long offered employees a 10% discount on general merchandise, which is pretty hefty considering prices are already low. That discount is in place all year and then in December employees could also save 10% on food.