The store closings announced this week by Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. will prompt more layoffs at the retailer's Joppa headquarters as well as job cuts among field supervisors, sources said yesterday.
People familiar with Merry-Go-Round's operations said several dozen positions could be eliminated in Joppa and in regional offices now that the fashion chain will have 200 fewer stores to administer.
A company spokesman confirmed that more layoffs are coming both in Joppa and in the field. But he said the exact number and timetable of the cuts haven't been determined.
The layoffs will be in addition to the hundreds of jobs to be eliminated by February as the 200 stores shut down.
Merry-Go-Round, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings for almost a year, laid off 70 Joppa-based buyers, clerks, warehouse people and other workers earlier this month. The reason: the retailer had shrunk from more than 1,400 stores a year ago to about 1,200, executives said three weeks ago.
Now that the company has said it will run only a little more than 1,000 Merry-Go-Round, Dejaiz, Attivo, Chess King and Cignal stores, more headquarters cuts are coming. News of the layoffs should be no surprise to Merry-Go-Round workers, said one employee who asked to remain anonymous, saying he feared for his job.
"You don't need to be a genius to figure out where this company's going," he said. "These guys are not pussyfooting around."
"These guys" are Thomas Shull, who took over as Merry-Go-Round's chief executive in November, and James Kenney, who was named chief operating officer. Partners in the "turnaround management" consulting firm Meridian Ventures, they have moved quickly to reduce costs and close weak stores.
Employment in Joppa fluctuates with the season, rising sharply when Merry-Go-Round fills stores with new merchandise. A year ago, full-time, year-round employment at Merry-Go-Round's headquarters was more than 700, a spokesman said. The layoffs announced three weeks ago brought full-time Joppa employment down to about 610.
Merry-Go-Round remains one of the biggest private employers in Harford County. "What appears to be happening now at the company is pretty consistent with what they advised us would happen in previous meetings," said Paul Gilbert, director of the Harford County Office of Economic Development.
Supervalu Inc.'s recent decision to operate a 200-job food warehouse in the county and other pending deals will help compensate for the Merry-Go-Round job losses, Mr. Gilbert said.
Companywide, Merry-Go-Round employment has fallen from close to 15,000 to fewer than 13,000.