Circuit City to Cut Headquarters Jobs, Shift Store Staff

Circuit City Storessaid it plans to shift some 640 store managers and trim its headquarters staff, the latest step in the consumer electronics retailer's turnaround plan.

Circuit City will shift managers from stores with low sales to busier outlets, affecting about one manager from each of its stores, according to a company spokesman. In addition, some will take on new supervisory roles.

"The number of managers in the store will be based on store volume," the spokesman said. "We will be eliminating some positions and creating other positions. At the end of the day the number of people working in our stores will be about the same."

However, 200 jobs will be eliminated from the 3,100 at its Richmond, Virginia, headquarters, due to cost cutting. The company has about 46,000 employees in all.

Circuit City is in the midst of a multiyear effort to overhaul its business amid losses of market share to rival Best Buyand competition from discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores.

The new staff moves come after the company in March said it would replace about 3,400 store employees with lower-paid staff and that it would close about 65 stores.