Kohl’s Employee Buyout: Retailer Looks To Offer ‘Significant Departure Payouts’ To Salaried Employees

In an effort to make its operations a little leaner, Kohl’s (KSS) is offering a buyout program to a portion of its salaried workers. The retailer, who employs approximately 140,000 people, made the voluntary buyout program available to hourly employees earlier this year.

Marc Chini, chief people officer at Kohl’s, sent the message to salary employees on Wednesday, offering them what he called a voluntary role reduction opportunity for those that have been with the company for at least five years, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, chain requires salary employees looking to take the buyout to show how the elimination of their role will make the company more efficient through redistribution of responsibilities or automation, the news outlet said.

Kohl’s salaried workers will get what it is reportedly calling “a significant departure payment based on years of service,” according to Chini. But not all salaried employees are eligible for the payout as managers and assistant managers cannot take advantage of the offer, the Journal Sentinel said.

The company reportedly is not seeking a specific number of salaried employees to take advantage of the buyout offer, which it said would be a benefit to Kohl’s financially as well as its associates.

Shares of Kohl's stock were down 0.26 percent as of 10:36 a.m. ET on Thursday.