Lowe’s Set To Lay Off Thousands Of Workers

Rough news for some employed at the hardware store Lowe's, as thousands of layoffs are on the way.

According to WQAD, the positions affected include "assemblers that put together items such as grills and patio furniture, maintenance and facility-service jobs, such as janitors." The reasoning behind the layoffs is that the company is switching to third-party services.

We are moving to third-party assemblers and facility services to allow Lowe's store associates to spend more time on the sales floor serving customers," a spokesperson for Lowe's said, via WQAD

After closing down 20 U.S. stores and cutting inventory to compete with other home improvement retailers, such as Home Depot, Lowe's has launched a "turnaround plan". The layoffs are part of that plan.

Despite the layoffs, home Improvement stores like Lowe's and Home Depot luckily have not made massive store closures like other retailers effected by Amazon. Lowe's has more than 1,700 stores in the U.S. and employs hundreds of thousands of people. Lowe's has not said exactly how many workers will be laid off, but they did say that those whose jobs are being eliminated will be given transition pay, along with the opportunity to apply for other job openings with the company, reports WQAD.

We've got one location here in Cedar Rapids. There's no word yet on the locations that will be affected.