Staff and wire report
Kmart is revising staffing levels at its 1,400 stores but company officials won't say how that will affect the Havre store.
A spokesman for parent Sears Holdings Corp. said last week that the company will lay off an unspecified number of employees nationwide as part of the process.
The staffing decisions also entail adding jobs at some stores and would be disclosed to employees but not announced publicly, spokesman Chris Brathwaite said.
An assistant store manager in Havre, who would not give his name, said today the store had been affected by the changes. He said he had no other comment. Two other employees also declined to comment.
Brathwaite today said the company would not discuss changes at the Havre store.
The changes come after a months-long review and are not tied to recent sales results, he said.
‘‘Some stores aren't impacted at all, some stores need some more people and some stores will adjust their numbers based on their particular needs,'' Brathwaite said.
The Detroit News reported Wednesday that a company e-mail sent to store managers said the changes will affect a small number of employees in most Kmart stores. Similar actions taken across many of the 1,400 stores would mean thousands of jobs affected.
Brathwaite declined to say how many jobs will be added or lost overall.
The company's Sears stores are not part of the review, he said.
Kmart has about 133,000 employees.
The former Kmart Holding Corp., based in Troy, Mich., acquired Sears, Roebuck and Co. in March. The enlarged retailer was renamed Sears Holdings and its headquarters were moved to Sears' home in Hoffman Estates. Sears continues to operate offices at the Michigan site.
