Short circuit

Wow, talk about the cold side of capitalism.

Electronics retailer Circuit City is going to lay off 3,400 workers — and no, that’s not the bad part. Companies have to do things like that to survive from time to time.

I think consumers can understand that. What they will have trouble swallowing is something else Circuit City is doing.

It will replace the laid-off employees with new hires — who of course will make less money. Worse yet, some of those new hires could be … folks who just got laid off at Circuit City.

That’s right, tech-heads. Circuit City’s laid-off workers would get a severance package and could reapply for their former jobs — at lower pay, after a 10-week wait.

“This strategy strikes me as being quite cold,” Bernard Baumohl, executive director of The Economic Outlook Group, told the Associated Press. “I don’t think it’s in the best interest of Circuit City as a whole.”

No kidding, Bernie. Circuit City also dropped commissions for its sales workers in 2003, and sales slumped.

Surprised? Don’t be.

Employees who are not motivated will often do little more than show up. They won’t take initiative and hustle for sales or think of ways to improve the store. They will stand around and wait for customers to come to them.

The cold-hearted cuts come at a time when other retailers are paying more money to better-trained employees who can help them more. Home Depot is even hiring skilled craftsmen like carpenters and electricians, and they don’t come cheap.

You would think that Circuit City executives would think along those lines. After all, the store sells some pretty sophisticated electronics gear. If your sales clerk doesn’t know a byte from a bike, you’re not exactly going to be filled with confidence about the product.

Most consumers buy electronic stuff only a few times a year. They wouldn’t be going into a Circuit City a lot anyway. I think they will be making fewer trips now.