Nordstrom could cut 231 jobs at Cedar Rapids fulfillment center, according to WARN listing

CEDAR RAPIDS — Just weeks ahead of the start of the busy holiday shopping and shipping season, Nordstrom sent emails to employees at its Midwest Fulfillment Center in Cedar Rapids saying the corporation planned to “adjust the size” of its workforce there.

The Seattle-based department store chain filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, for 231 employees at its 7700 18th St. SW facility, dated Oct. 18.

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In the Monday email to employees, Jason Bell, Nordstrom’s senior vice president of supply chain operations, said that, “Over the past several months, we've been working to evolve our supply chain network to more closely align with the needs of our business and customer. This includes our continued shift away from a national fulfillment model to a regional fulfillment model, which we know will get us closer to our customers and allow us to better serve them.

“We've also been working as a team to navigate a shifting macroeconomic environment, changes in consumer demand and the wind-down of our Trunk Club offering,” his email continued.

“Taken together, these factors have contributed to a reduction in volume for Midwest Fulfillment Center.”

Bell wrote that, “... we've made the difficult decision to adjust the size of our team to more closely align with the current needs of our business to ensure we have an appropriate number of hours for all team members.”

Meetings were scheduled to be held with individual shifts about the changes.

“Midwest FC remains a critical component of our supply chain network — today and into the future — and we remain committed to the Cedar Rapids community,” Bell wrote.

A Nordstrom spokesperson confirmed the email to The Gazette on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the fulfillment center employed more than 1,100 workers before the planned changes.