This merger thing is starting out on the wrong foot here. I was very excited about this news, thought it would be great for Florida. Well, it still could be, but it looks like this company is going to have to keep reducing costs to get competitive. They just announced that they have laid off 35% of their staff since the $1.2 billion merger took place in November. Stock is sliding, and they are trying to reorganize. If you remember from one of my former blog posts about the unemployed, that we all know someone in this situation, who has become unemployed. In this one, it was my next store neighbor. He will remain nameless, but had worked at the firm for over a decade and was a very high executive there. He was led to believe that he survived the merger, and so feeling secure he began some badly needed home renovations that he had been putting off. It was then that he was given the news. He has 3 kids, and there are not many companies the size of Office Depot here. As companies fight for survival there are going to be casualties but there are right and wrong ways to do things. That being said, there could be more pain before it is all said and done. The job of reorganizing is huge, deciding on which stores to close, rebranding and renaming all the stores, etc. I wish them well but not sure I am going to shop there again.
Office Depot, OfficeMax cut HQ staff by 35%
Orin Rosenfeld
President
Rosenfeld Realty Advisors
9858 Glades Rd. Suite 209
Boca Raton, FL 33434
Phone: 561-756-1665
Fax: 561-470-0707
No comments:
Post a Comment