Lowe’s announces layoffs at stores nationwide

A number of Lowe's workers across the United States will be losing their jobs, the home improvement company confirmed, because it is outsourcing their tasks.

Lowe's is hiring third-party assemblers and facility services to replace Lowe's workers who put together products such as grills and patio furniture for customer orders, Lowe's spokeswoman Jackie Hartzell.

The job cuts are already underway, she said.

Hartzell said the company would not release numbers of employees affected by the layoffs either locally or nationwide because the company expects to retain some employees in other roles.

The Wall Street Journal reported the number of affected employees is in the thousands, including several workers at each of Lowe's 1,800 stores.

The affected workers will be given transition pay and be able to apply for other open roles at Lowes, Hartzell said.

Lowe's employs about 300,000 people, Hartzell said.

Other layoffs

This is the latest wave of layoffs to hit Lowe's workers.

In April, Lowe's announced plans to relocated hundreds of jobs in Wilkesboro, N.C., to the retailer's headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., and cut about 200 jobs at a Charlotte, N.C., facility.

Former J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison came on as CEO of the home improvement chain in July 2018.

Under Ellison, the company hired several retail veterans to its executive leadership team, closed dozens of stores, discontinued business units that weren't working and began a revamp of stores, the Observer reported in April.

In June, Lowe's announced plans to build a 2,000-employee global tech hub in South End in Charlotte. The hub will be housed in a new 23-story tower adjacent to the Rail Trail.

The company could receive over $72 million in combined state and local incentives in connection with the hub, the Observer reported in July.

Lowe's plans to create 1,600 jobs and said the average annual pay for the new positions in the hub will be more than $117,000.