Report: Home Depot Shifts Night Crews

Atlanta The Home Depot Inc. plans to reassign overnight-shift employees to days at its lower-volume stores, a change that puts more workers on the sales floor without raising costs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Combined with a change in how products are ordered, the work-force reassignment is part of the company's push on customer service, according to Paul Raines, Home Depot's executive VP for stores. The switch won't reduce employees' hours or result in layoffs.

The change could affect as many as half of the company's 2,000 U.S. stores, the report said.

The decision reverses a plan implemented several years ago by former Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli, who switched freight receiving and stocking to overnight hours in order to reduce aisle clutter and safety concerns caused by forklifts operating during busy daytime hours. However, the change led to complaints of poor customer service.