ECON Bidenomics in Action: Best Buy’s ‘Geek Squad’ Tech Support Unit Hit with Massive Layoffs


Bidenomics in Action: Best Buy’s ‘Geek Squad’ Tech Support Unit Hit with Massive Layoffs​


Retail giant Best Buy is conducting massive layoffs within its Geek Squad tech support division, leaving numerous employees suddenly jobless and struggling to come to terms with their unexpected termination.


According to reports from 404 Media, who spoke directly with several affected employees, the layoffs were communicated abruptly last week. Geek Squad members were instructed to work from home and await a phone call from their superiors, which would ultimately determine their employment status.


Best Buy posted declines in fiscal 2022 second quarter profits and sales as the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain struggled with weakening consumer demand for gadgets and high costs that rippled through its supply chain. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Best Buy has not responded to requests for comment regarding the number of employees affected by the layoffs. However, a laid-off worker who spoke to 404 Media indicated that the scale of the cuts is significant, stating, “it’s definitely company wide and bigger than the cuts last summer.”


One employee told 404 Media, “It sucks, I spent more than half my life with this company and sacrificed a lot of personal time and experiences just to be let go.” The worker also revealed that they hadn’t been scheduled for a full 40-hour workweek since the previous year, making it challenging to make ends meet.


Another former employee, who had been with Best Buy and Geek Squad for over a decade, shared their experience of the layoffs. “We were notified via email Tuesday about a ‘work from home event’ taking place Wednesday about a ‘company change,'” they said. “Our leadership gave individual calls stating we were being let go for the simple fact that the company couldn’t afford to pay us, more or less. It was extremely short notice and devastating.”


Layoffs have become a regular occurrence within the company, creating a destabilizing environment for workers. Best Buy employees have begun referring to these mass layoffs as “snaps,” drawing a parallel to the actions of the villain Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One employee claimed that the company has been consistently cutting departments and services, sometimes by half, leaving many areas operating with skeleton crews.
They also alleged that Best Buy has eliminated in-home agents for troubleshooting PC issues and is now directing customers to resolve problems through online chats.




This latest wave of layoffs follows a similar pattern from the previous year when Best Buy laid off hundreds of employees at its retail stores, citing “macroeconomic headwinds” as the reason behind the cuts.

The company plans to close an additional 15 stores by 2025.


Read more at 404 Media here.
 

WalknTrot

Veteran Member
Well, "half his life" may not be very many years.

Anyway...the passing acquaintance I've had with them (asking them for components they themselves claimed to sell in the store and getting a "you can do that?" response) led to a belief that the Geek Squad doesn't consist of the sharpest knives in the drawer. Also stories told by people I know of their home visits and inability to accomplish much. I get the impression most of them spend their time in the back room pulling bloatware off of newly purchased PC's and laptops for people who can't do it themselves.

Best Buy has been a dying niche for years. Most of the stuff they sell, people buy online these days, with the possible exception of household appliances. If the guys on the Geek Squad had seen the writing on the wall, and were any good at being a "geek" they would be working for a local small business, or would have already started their own.
 

Squid

Veteran Member
Consider that,

All those people who paid Best Buy extra for computer support from Geek Squad when they bought a computer from can kiss those extra service promises goodbye, along with the hundreds of dollars paid.
 

Lone_Hawk

Resident Spook
Actually, I'm not at all surprised. In January (while I still couldn't drive) I wanted to know if I got X computer from them could that do an upgrade for me before I pick it up, and I would pay for it all in advance. They do not allow their Geeks to answer the phone or talk to customers in store unless you have an appointment. Their website and customer service is a looping pit of hell and it took me 8 hours to get a human on the phone. I got my computer, but not the upgrade, and they lost a customer.
 

Tex88

Veteran Member
Go Woke….Go Broke
How is BB going woke LOL...

As far as why, Barrie referenced multiple “macro factors” affecting consumer spending on electronics, including a drop in sales following heightened demand during the pandemic, and that, “honestly, really, right now, there isn’t any massive current innovation that would spur you to go buy a new laptop.”
 

Tex88

Veteran Member
Actually, I'm not at all surprised. In January (while I still couldn't drive) I wanted to know if I got X computer from them could that do an upgrade for me before I pick it up, and I would pay for it all in advance. They do not allow their Geeks to answer the phone or talk to customers in store unless you have an appointment. Their website and customer service is a looping pit of hell and it took me 8 hours to get a human on the phone. I got my computer, but not the upgrade, and they lost a customer.
MicroCenter is where it's at these days, now that Fry's has ceased to exist.
 

WalknTrot

Veteran Member
Nearly every small town, let alone bigger towns, has a local shop with guys who actually know what they are doing and will help out for a reasonable price. Don't need no steenkin' degrees - most of them just natural born, self-educated geeks, and because it's a small business, they care about satisfying their customers. Customers consisting of other small businesses, and people who don't have the time or knowledge to do for themselves.
 
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