Layoffs/Transfers in Cedar Rapids area Home Depots?

I was wondering if anyone knew if Home Depots in the Cedar Rapids area are actually doing this? I heard that close to 20 employees were forced to look for transfer opportunities due to cutbacks and only a couple of those employees were accepted for transfer to another state. I'm just not sure what to believe and would love any info that could be offered on this subject.
Thank You

Everybody is going to be affected. Home Depot starts its "elimination process" months ago. First, HD never wanted to replace their employees when workers left either because they got fired or because everyday more and more tasks would be given to them , like working in many departments at the same time for example an associate from the paint department will be also working in the plumbing dept the result, poor customer service.Next, Home Depot cut all the part - time workers' hours from 5 up to 10 hrs per week. Some of these workers have no choice but to quit and start looking for another part- time job with a least 20- 30 hrs. A new stage of this process came few weeks ago, when two positions were eliminated, the freight team ( 9pm-6am, $11 per hour average) and the inventory team (4am-1pm $13 per hour average) . These workers have few drastic choices to take within 2 months: unemployment, get a transfer to another location if available or be a "full flex worker" meaning an associate will have to be available to work anytime including weekends at any time of the day. Forget about planning a day of with the family.Tricky strategic. The inventory management associate (IMA) are getting layoff, the position according to Home Depot have to be eliminated in stores making 35 mil or under. The reality is that a new position with pretty much the same description but under a new name: Inventory Specialist Associate (ISA) will be taken over. Thus, an IMA who gets an average of $ 14 per hour he/she will be replaced for an associate with a lower salary rate. Did I mention that those IMA who have no choice but to take a position as ISA will have a pay cut? IMA are a D band, the ISA is a B band. If an IMA makes 75% in his pay band, and take another position in a lower pay band, he/she will go to 75% of that band. My question is: Why is a big news that The Home Depot announced today a layoff of 10% of its Atlanta headquarters, what about the average american worker?....

The hours that HD has taken away and is the process of taken away from the associates in the stores is probably close to laying off over 6000 people. They chose to do it this way to keep it out of the press and save the already falling value of the stock!

homersnotfair in Florida said: The hours that HD has taken away and is the process of taken away from the associates in the stores is probably close to laying off over 6000 people. They chose to do it this way to keep it out of the press and save the already falling value of the stock!

Has anyone read this article written by Ann Zimmerman (Ann Zimmerman at ann.zimmerman@wsj.com)in The Wall Street Journal?
online.wsj.com/article/SB120002052715983045.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I found the complete article at the library.
The most interesting portion of the article... "The switch won't reduce employees' hours or result in layoffs, he said." (Won't reduce employees hours???)Oh, "he" is referring to Paul Raines, Home Depot's executive vice president for stores.

This in the New York Times 2/01/2008

"Home Depot is eliminating jobs in several departments, like human resources and information technology, but the layoffs will not affect workers at the chain’s 2,200 stores, Mr. DeFeo said.

Mr. DeFeo "is a spokesman for Home Depot"...
hmm.."not affect workers at the chain's 2,200 stores"??
I guess no one's informed Mr.Defeo.

I wonder if there still offering those transfers to China... maybe between the lead paint and the low wages they could still afford a few good people...