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Circuit City: Reaping What You Sow
July 10, 2008
A little over a year ago, I received a call from a reporter at USA Today who was writing a story about Circuit City’s announcement that it planned to lay off the highest paid workers and replace them with lower cost labor. In response to how I thought the company would fare I essentially said,
Circuit City’s plan to eliminate one earning category to replace it with another is an odd strategy. But what's stranger is to say publicly that they are basically going to replace their existing, most expensive labor with a cheaper alternative. I think more than potential morale problems, they face PR and consumer troubles too. Frankly, from an image perspective, it’s not a very flattering move. There is a psychology attached to value and worth in the workplace and this makes Circuit City look as though they are treating people like tradable commodities. Not only do I think that customers and employees will be turned off, I also think that the negative aftermath will extend to hinder employees' desire to sell and customers' willingness to buy. The company is trading savings now for the costs they are likely to pay later. I’m not saying that cuts don’t
need to happen. But I am saying that this way doesn’t make a lot of sense. I would have preferred to see them do a compensation restructuring rather than gouging out a segment of the workforce to save a margin on salaries. In my opinion, it’s a short-sighted strategy.
Needless to say, when the article came out positioning Circuit City’s strategy as justifiable, and even viable, I had my doubts. I just couldn't see it. So, I was wrong? Well, not exactly. For the moment maybe. But as it turned out, it was more appropriately a matter of wait-and-see.
So now, fast forward to earlier this week and we learn that it’s not looking very good for Circuit City. The news of their potential demise reinforces my belief that you can’t be a company that treats employees like dirt and pull stunts that make them feel unvalued and disregarded and expect them to want you to succeed, let alone profit. It's HR 101.
Let's face it. The results speak for themselves. Circuit City's 52 week high traded at 15.15 and today’s low was 2.13. Not good. Not good at all.
Posted by Donna Flagg on July 10, 2008 | Comments (13)