Lowe’s laid off thousands of assistant store managers Tuesday, company officials said.
A company spokeswoman said the layoffs are part of a new store staffing model.
The new model will result in the reduction of approximately 1 to 2 assistant store manager positions per store, the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said the layoffs affect approximately 2,400 employees, which is less than 1 percent of the workforce.
On its website, the company lists 2,355 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The spokeswoman said it only affects stores in the U.S.
The company said it's providing the assistant managers whose positions were eliminated with a transition package including severance, outplacement resources and other support.
WSOC-TV reporter Dave Faherty found out that employees were meeting at the Lowe's in Hickory around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. A little over an hour later officials at the company's corporate headquarters made the announcement.
The Fortune 500 company, with headquarters in Mooresville, made the announcement ahead of the busy spring season saying it is shifting resources from back-of-the-store activities to customer-facing ones.
Officials have not released the total number of job cuts.
Lowe's officials said it is still expanding and expecting to add 15-20 stores per year, adding some store-level 4,000 jobs.
In October Lowe's laid off 95 employees in its information technology department. Some of those positions were in the Mooresville headquarters. Those workers received severance pay based on tenure and position.
