Layoffs hit H.B. stores

Several of the tens of thousands of national job cuts announced in recent days will occur here in Huntington Beach, as companies like Boeing, Quiksilver, Home Depot and Circuit City announce cutbacks and closures.

According to the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification list, Boeing has laid off or will lay off 64 local employees from Jan. 1 to Feb. 19.

The company’s Huntington Beach campus specializes in defense applications, following a restructuring after its long history in space aviation.

Quiksilver said Monday that 200 positions — 150 currently filled by employees and 50 unfilled — are being cut to reduce costs in its Americas region.

“Beginning last year, we initiated a process to reduce our corporate overhead and cut spending in each of our regions. While these measures improved our overall cost structure by more than $35 million, our commitment to further streamlining the business and the continued decline in the retail environment make additional steps necessary,” Quiksilver founder, President and Chief Executive Bob McKnight said.

The reduction in staff will make up one-third of the total savings, and will shave $5 million in expenses from the company’s first fiscal quarter books. Reports also indicate Quiksilver is poised to sell DC Shoes to VF, the owner of Vans, or be acquired in whole by Nike, which also owns Hurley.

“Our spending cuts are across-the-board, touching each of our internal organizations and systems in the Americas, but have been designed to drive improved efficiency while minimizing the impact to our customers and other business partners,” McKnight said.

Two-thirds of the currently filled jobs on the chopping block are in Huntington Beach.

“All levels of our organization are affected by these actions as nearly 20% of the employees involved in the reduction hold manager-level titles or higher,” McKnight said.

In addition, Quiksilver has enacted further pay cuts for its executive management team, the apparel company said.

“Our management team has worked together on these cost reduction measures with the primary goal of becoming better positioned to weather the current environment and to meet our business objectives moving forward,” McKnight said.

As part of a 7,000-job pare-down, Home Depot announced Monday that it will close all of its Expo Design Center stores, including the location at 6912 Edinger Ave.

The stores are expected to close in the next two months, following a liquidation process.

Expo Design Centers sell designer furniture and accessories in addition to high-end appliances, fixtures and building materials.

The luxury goods haven’t proved popular in the current financial market, the big-box retailer said; it also plans to shutter other smaller brands in its company, including YardBIRDS.

Like other companies, Home Depot has announced plans to freeze officer-level salaries.

Circuit City Stores, which has been in business for more than 60 years, announced liquidation plans this month following a failed Chapter 11 attempt, with all stores set to close by the end of March.

“We are extremely disappointed by this outcome,” said Vice Chairman and acting President and Chief Executive James Marcum.

“The company had been in continuous negotiations regarding a going concern transaction. Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited time frame available, and so this is the only possible path for our company.”

The stores’ liquidation sales began earlier this month. Circuit City’s Huntington Beach store is at 7881 Edinger Ave.

A liquidator is handling the sale, but gift cards and reward certificates are still being accepted for the time being. Circuit City credit cards are no longer being honored at liquidation locations. Products eligible to be returned must be returned by close of business Friday; product exchanges are not available.

CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at [email protected].