QVC plans layoffs, shifting some functions to Hampton Roads

QVC, largely known for its home shopping channel, has announced layoffs at a Pennsylvania facility with plans to move some functions to Hampton Roads.

Over the next 14 months, the company will phase out its distribution center in West Chester, Pa., and will shift the majority of its home product lines to distribution centers in Suffolk and Rocky Mount, N.C.

Other product lines from the Pennsylvania operation will be shifted to other distribution centers, the release says.

The company also plans to move call center functions to centers in Chesapeake and others in Texas and Florida, the release says. The company also plans to expand its initiative that allows phone representatives to work some shifts at home.

The company said that a total of 900 jobs would be eliminated during the next 14 months, but 200 other jobs would be created at a distribution center in South Carolina. The job cuts account for about 5.8 percent of the company’s workforce, the release says.

About 160 people were laid off yesterday from its "U.S. locations," as part of a process of “simplifying management and support structure and streamlining key processes,” company officials said in the release.

The company said the initiatives are part of a plan to “support its long-term growth strategy while also addressing current business conditions.”

The cuts should reduce the company’s forecasted 2009 operating costs by $30 to $40 million, the release says.