Best Buy Co Inc said on Thursday it plans to lay off 250 workers at its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis as it cuts costs in the recession.

But the top U.S. specialty electronics retailer added it will also create 210 new posts the idled workers could take, for a net loss of 40 jobs.

The retailer said last month that involuntary layoffs would be necessary after about 500 of its slightly less than 4,000 headquarters workers accepted voluntary exit packages that provided 7.5 months severance for the average non-managerial corporate staffer.

The voluntary program was a success as it significantly reduced the number of necessary involuntary reductions, Best Buy spokeswoman Sue Busch Nehring said in an email.

Workers who took the voluntary separation packages left the company on February 12, she said. Workers affected by the involuntary layoffs will remain employed for 30 days.

Busch Nehring said Best Buy, which has expanded mobile phone shops in recent months, was retooling its U.S. stores to deliver a more intuitive, customer-focused shopping experience.

Store changes are designed to shift labor dollars to where customers are, she added.

The retailer's sales have come under pressure as consumers cut back during the recession. Sales at stores open at least 14 months, or same-store sales, fell 6.5 percent in December.

Best Buy shares rose 17 cents to close at $27.89 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs; Editing by Andre Grenon)

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