Online sales will account for 40%! Best Buy is laying off employees on a large scale

Best Buy has been a big winner during the pandemic , with sales surging on everything from laptops to kitchen appliances as more consumers shop online and more Americans work and cook from home.

Online sales will account for 40%

Best Buy expects 40% of its sales to come from online shopping this year, up from 19 % two years ago , and the company said it needs to adjust its workforce to cope with this shift in consumer behavior .

In addition, Best Buy also said that it expects to close more stores this year .

According to USA Today, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said in the company's quarterly earnings conference call : "In addition to physical stores, our operating model also needs to evolve to meet customers' changing shopping behaviors, which have been accelerated by the epidemic."

As online sales grow, Best Buy also plans to use more in-store space to fulfill home delivery orders. The company is currently retraining workers to help them process online orders. At the same time, the retailer is also trying new store layouts to reduce the size of the sales floor and expand the space dedicated to shipping orders.

Best Buy to lay off 5,000 employees

Best Buy said it has been adjusting the ratio of full-time to part-time employees in its stores since the beginning of this month as online business has surged and fewer consumers are shopping in person .

Due to having too many full-time employees and not enough part-time employees , Best Buy laid off 5,000 store employees , most of whom were full-time . In addition , Best Buy will replace the laid-off full-time employees with 2,000 part-time employees. Currently , Best Buy has more than 100,000 employees, which is 21,000 fewer than the previous year.

Best Buy Canada has laid off 750 employees, 660 of whom are part-time and seasonal workers.

"As in the U.S., consumer behaviors have changed in Canada, and similarly, we've had to evolve to meet those needs, " said Tara Narain, senior communications manager for Best Buy Canada . "This has included adaptations in the way we work, with some individuals changing roles or locations, and we've had to say goodbye to some colleagues. "

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