Nearly three years after acquiring the Medical Arts Press family of catalogs, Framingham, MA-based Staples is relocating several business functions from Medical Arts’ Brooklyn Park, MN, headquarters to Lincolnshire, IL, the home of Staples subsidiary Quill.
Staples spokesperson Owen Davis says 12% of Medical Arts’ 485 workers, or about 58 positions, will be laid off as a result. Where possible, he adds, Quill is offering employees the opportunity to apply for open positions in Lincolnshire for relocation.
Medical Arts, which sells forms, stationery, and other office supplies to podiatrists, dentists, chiropractors, and other specialists, is an operating division of Quill.
The move, says Davis, “is part of an effort to ensure the businesses are aligned efficiently to manage day-to-day operations and to support profitable growth.” The Brooklyn Park facility will continue as Medical Arts’ primary call center, distribution center, and print production operation.
And according to the Philadelphia “Inquirer,” multichannel apparel and decor merchant Urban Outfitters will relocate about 130 back-end positions from Pennsylvania to a distribution center/call center in Edgefield County, SC, this summer. About 75 of the positions are from Urban Outfitters’ Philadelphia call center; the remaining 55 are from its warehouse in Gap, PA.
Urban Outfitters chief financial officer John Kyees told the “Inquirer” that the move will save the company “multimillions” of dollars a year in taxes and labor costs. the affected employees are being offered the opportunity to relocate.