Macy's to hire more than 38,000 employees for holiday season (updated)

1-800-FLOWERS.COM

18/09/2023 17:33

(Adds details on holiday hiring in paragraphs 2 to 8)
       Sept 18 (Reuters) - Macy's  M.N  said on Monday it would
hire more than 38,000 full and part-time workers for the
upcoming holiday season - fewer than last year - as the U.S.
department store gears up for the busy shopping period.
    Companies have been grappling with weak consumer sentiment
and increased labor costs even as the U.S. labor market has
shown signs of easing. 
    Macy's had last year said it would hire about 41,000
employees. It hired around 76,000 workers in 2021.
    The company is looking to hire for its Macy's,
Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury stores, as well as its
distribution centers. 
    A report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed U.S.
retailers would hire the lowest number of seasonal workers this
year since 2008. Planned holiday hires announced so far were
much lower than in 2022, it said.
    U.S. holiday sales this year are expected to grow at their
slowest pace in five years, as consumers spend cautiously due to
shrinking household savings and lingering worries over the
economy.
    Gifting company 1-800-Flowers.com  FLWS.O  last week
announced plans to hire more than 8,000 seasonal workers across
its store banners while Kroger  KR.N  said it would "hire
thousands of associates".
    Some companies such as Bath & Body Works  BBWI.N  are also
offering perks to attract more employees for the holidays. The
company said it would offer flexible work hours, a $500
associate referral bonus and a 40% store-wide discount to the
2,500 seasonal employees it is looking to hire at its four
Ohio-based distribution centers.


 (Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
 ((DeborahMary.Sophia@thomsonreuters.com;))