Home Depot Layoffs: 7,000 Jobs Lost; Home Depot Expo to Close

The Washington Post reports on Home Depot’s layoffs and Home Depot Expo store closings:

Home Depot Inc said it will eliminate 7,000 jobs, or about 2 percent of its workforce, as it closes its Expo home design centers and cuts corporate support staff, sending its shares up 6 percent.

The world’s largest home improvement retailer also said on Monday it was freezing the salaries of all officers as it looks to save money in a prolonged retail slump.

Home Depot opened the Expo stand-alone stores 1991. But even during the most recent housing boom, it was not a strong business and has weakened significantly as demand waned for high-priced home improvement projects, the company said.

“We see the announcements as largely positive,” Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Schick said in a research note, adding that it made no sense for Home Depot to stick with the Expo business, hoping for long-term growth even as it trims its main operations.

I can think of 7,000 people off the top of my head who don’t see the announcement as positive.