Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving which is commonly regarded as the biggest shopping day of the year, is a little under two months out, so it's not surprising to hear about plans regarding hiring for the upcoming seasonal rush. Macy's said earlier today that it plans to put some big numbers out on the collective floor with the intent to hire around 80,000 seasonal associates.
The hiring won't just be done at local Macy's stores, however, as plans also include hiring for Bloomingdale's stores, as well as for call centers, distribution outlets and online fulfillment centers as well. Macy's seasonal hiring plans actually represent a small uptick over this time last year, as in 2011, Macy's planned to hire an additional 78,000 associates, which is 2.5 percent fewer associates than this year. Most of the positions will be part-time, with a note of flexibility tossed in to accommodate the extra traveling that many employees would undertake during this time of year, and in some cases, the temporary workers are offered permanent positions with the stores or various behind-the-scenes operations, especially for those high performers who do well during the busiest season of the year.
Macy's chairman, president and CEO Terry J. Lundgren talked about the value of temporary employees on Macy's overall operations, saying "Macy’s traditionally implements one of the most robust holiday hiring programs in American retailing, and that will be the case again in 2012. Hiring additional associates for holidays ensures that our customers are well-served in this busy shopping period – both on the sales floor and behind the scenes. Moreover, our seasonal positions help a wide range of Americans earn extra money. In many cases, these are students working to help pay tuition, retirees seeking to remain active and individuals wanting to supplement their income."
Those interested in getting one of these temporary positions can go to Macy's or Bloomingdale's websites for more information, and those who submit applications online will receive responses by -email, with hiring expected to begin in the middle of this month, though some positions are already hiring, especially for sales support positions.
It's a bit of a surprise to see Macy's ramping up their hiring, especially in what is seen by many as an economy that really hasn't recovered from the Great Recession's impact. But it's quite clear that Macy's is banking on better sales, as denoted by their hiring plans. Of course, there's the possibility that Macy's is planning to weigh its sales on the online and sales support sides, as some business have seen online sales increase in the past. Some shoppers are looking to evade the Black Friday rush by staying home, or by waiting for the growing phenomenon of Cyber Monday--so named because that's the Monday people return to work from the Thanksgiving holiday, and thus do some online shopping on fatter corporate pipes--to do their shopping instead.
Whatever Macy's motivations, it's going to be good news for some out of work people hoping to get some income in ahead of the holidays.
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