Home Depot announced on Jan. 28 that it will be cutting 800 jobs and requiring all corporate workers back into the office five days per week.
CEO Ted Decker explained that these changes are meant to increase the efficiency and overall well-being of the company.
“To extend our industry-leading position, we must position the company to move faster and stay even more closely connected to our customers and frontline associates,” Decker said in a memo to CNBC.
But the cuts come after Home Depot fell short of Wall Street expectations and recent boycotts due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at its stores. However, Home Depot told Newsweek that it was not notified that ICE would be present at its stores.
A spokesperson from Home Depot told Retail Dive that the recent cuts impacted roles in support centers and that employees will be offered separation packages, transitional benefits and job placements.
“We’re simplifying our corporate operations to better support our stores and our customers,” the spokesperson said. “Our goal is to drive greater agility and position the company to move faster and stay even more closely connected with our frontline associates.”
To do so, Home Depot has cut remote jobs and mandated a five-days per week presence for employees, which Decker hopes will propel company engagement.
“In-person engagement enables more meaningful support for store and field associates, drives results and reinforces our people-centric culture and inverted pyramid,” Decker said.The Wall Street Journal reported that in-person work will begin on April 6. Home Depot is not alone in job cuts; Amazon and Nike have announced cuts that would impact between 16,000 employees and 18,000 employees.
