Report: Nordstrom IT staff cuts go deeper

The technology department at Nordstrom continues getting smaller.



According to Geekwire, Nordstrom has laid off 120 IT employees. The cuts follow 10 technology staff reductions the retailer made at the beginning of March. All the layoffs have been part of an organizational restructuring and leveling of IT spending.



“Two weeks ago we shared our new leadership structure with our team and we are sharing additional changes in our organization’s restructure with those employees who are directly and indirectly impacted,” Nordstrom spokesperson Tara Darrow told Geekwire. “Some roles have changed, while others will no longer be needed to support our future direction. Unfortunately there are some people who no longer have roles with Nordstrom.”



The job cuts come on the heels of Nordstrom announcing during its fourth quarter earnings call that it will maintain its fiscal 2015 IT spending level of $300 million during fiscal 2016. That figure represented a 35% increase from the retailer’s 2014 technology budget.



During a recent analyst call, Nordstrom CFO Michael Koppel said the retailer will focus on fewer, more meaningful IT projects in the coming year. These are set to include a scalable, omnichannel merchandising system, as well as more efficient and cost-effective deliveries.



Although Nordstrom’s revenues and same-store sales both improved in the fourth quarter, profits fell 9% to $180 million from $255 million. However, Nordstrom.com sales rose 11%, compared to a 5% overall sales increase.