Borders is continuing to try and get its financials in order; to that end the company has eliminated 136 positions, most of them at company headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich. This most recent cut comes just two weeks after Borders eliminated several top management jobs as well as a number of employees who held the director title. This week's reductions, by contrast, affected entry-level to middle-management employees across all departments, and represents 12% of the corporate workforce, but less than 1% of the company's total workforce.
Borders CEO Ron Marshall called the cuts "one of the necessary steps we must take, along with other non-payroll expense reductions, to help get this company back on track financially. We will continue to move forward with deliberate speed to make the changes required to get Borders back on firm financial footing."
Just last week Borders got an extension from Pershing Square Capital Management, its largest shareholder, for the repayment of its $42.5 million loan until April 15. It also extended its put option to acquire its Paperchase subsidiary until April 15.
Borders execs are determined to turn the company around and these latest cuts are part of that plan. The company will also change its inventory management system so that it reorders books more quickly, which should make customers happy.