THE NEWS: Electronics retailer Best Buy is laying off 600 staffers in its Geek Squad technical support division and 1,800 other store workers, totaling about 1.4 percent of its 167,000 employees.
THE CONTEXT: Best Buy is cutting costs and restructuring as it tries to combat the “showrooming” of its stores, as consumers test out products at its stores but go home and buy them cheaper online or at discounters. The company is trying to trim $800 million in costs.
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WHAT’S NEXT: Interim CEO Mike Mikan has vowed that the retailer is committed to fundamentally changing operations to improve results.
