Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
CarMax, the nation’s largest retailer of used automobiles, has announced layoffs of 350 workers nationwide, including 25 in the Richmond area. The layoffs are coming from the Customer Experience Center , which assists customers through the car buying and selling process. “We recently conducted a comprehensive review of our CECs and have determined that the reorganization of the CECs will help us best serve our customers and strengthen our business for the future. After implementing several processes and technological improvements to streamline our customer communication support function, we are now able to realign key work areas, resulting in the consolidation of some teams,” CarMax said in a statement. “As a result of these strategic changes, we have made the difficult decision to reduce staffing on our Customer Experience Center team by approximately 350 positions across the country. This includes 25 positions in the Richmond area,” the statement continued. CarMax is offering severance, career support services, and the opportunity to apply for open internal roles to laid off workers. The layoffs come on the heels of disappointing second quarter results. CarMax’s used-vehicle net sales totaled $5.27 billion for the reported quarter, down 7.2% year over year due to a decline in unit sales. CarMax is headquartered in Goochland with over 250 stores nationwide and three in the Richmond area. The used car retailer employs roughly 30,000 nationwide and 1,300 in the Richmond area.
