Circuit City

Thousands of Circuit City workers are set to lose their jobs as the electronics retailer moves to close 150 stores or more. (Reuters)

All of Mervyn's employees are set to lose their jobs as the company liquidates its 149 clothing stores. (AP via the Post-Bulletin)

The almost incomprehensible greed and power of Big Business has been exposed in the current economic crisis. As workers lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care, it's time to escalate our movement to get the multinational corporations off the backs of hard-working families.

In a shameful move, the large electronics retailer Circuit City fired all of its senior sales staff just over a year ago. After a "cooling-off period", the 3,400 full-time workers were offered part-time jobs with lower wages, reduced benefits, and insecure work schedules.

What good did firing all of its senior staff do for Circuit City? The company is as battered as ever, doing its best to avoid a takeover bid from the rental chain Blockbuster. Blockbuster is now taking its offer directly to Circuit City shareholders. (New York Times)

Home Depot, Borders, and Target are among the large retailers getting attention from hedge funds and private equity groups. This is an ominous sign for workers as these lightly regulated investment vehicles have a track record of disregard for labor rights and community impact. (The Deal.com)

Cutting Costs, Destroying Lives: The Circuit City’s of Yesterday Live On

--This March will mark the one-year anniversary of Circuit City’s laying off of 3,400 employees nationwide. What is especially disturbing about this ‘cost-cutting’ crusade—besides its scale--was its explicit targeting of higher-paid employees. And after being told literally on the day of in some cases, workers were told that they could re-apply for open positions after a ten-week “cooling off” period. The audacity of this measure nearly escapes words: experienced workers could re-apply—after ‘waiting’ two and half months--for lousier positions, and work lousier hours for lousier pay? The fact that such a measure was taken—and that it was so sparsely covered in the media—is highly indicative of the often-demoralized and neglected state of retail workers today.