OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 1.6% in July compared with the same month last year, and modest year-over-year increases are expected through the holiday season shipping cycle, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

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.

New York -- White House officials have agreed to meet with members of the retail industry to discuss issues associated with implementation of the health reform law, responding to the industry's July 2 letter urging the administration to immediately release “long overdue” regulations that would allow employers to move forward on the law's requirements.

New York -- Best Buy Co. is laying off about 650 employees from its Geek Squad division, according to a report by KARE 11.

The report said the company is eliminating positions that service appliances and televisions in customer's homes. Best Buy said it is not getting rid of home service, but is restructuring it and realigning its work force across all service channels.

If laid off workers are unable to find another position within Best Buy, their last day will be Aug. 1, the report said.

Washington, D.C. -- A report issued Thursday by the Labor Department showed that applications for jobless benefits fell 14,000 in the week ended June 30, to 374,000.

The news eased some concern that the labor market is faltering further.

“Before today it was pretty clear the labor market had softened over the past few months,” Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., told Bloomberg. “Today’s reports show a little bright spot.”

 

New York -- Energy cost savings, government/utility incentives and rebates, and enhanced brand or public image ranked as the top drivers of energy-efficiency decision-making in the United States and Canada, according to a global survey of building owners and operators and facility managers by Johnson Controls.

Phoenix -- PetSmart said Tuesday it has named Paulette Dodson to the position of senior VP, general counsel and secretary.
 
Dodson was previously senior VP, general counsel and corporate secretary at Sara Lee Corp. Before joining Sara Lee, she spent 14 years at the Tribune Co. – which owns The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times – most recently as assistant general counsel for publishing.



 

New York -- The Jones Group Inc. announced that it has appointed Scott Bowman to the newly created role of group president of global retail and international development, effective immediately. He will oversee the international strategy and operations of retail and licensing for the company's portfolio of brands.