Dollar General says Marion distribution center job cuts to ensure competitiveness

Chronicle-Tribune staff reports

The decision to eliminate 44 positions at Dollar General's distribution center in Marion was part of an overall restructuring of the company's distribution work force.

That's according to Tawn Earnest, Dollar General's director of communications.

She said two examples of departments that lost employees were the security and unloading departments.

The moves come even as Dollar General has enjoyed higher store traffic as a result of consumers tightening their budgets.

The privately held company announced last week that its 2008 fourth-quarter sales grew to $2.9 billion, an increase of more than 11 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007.

Outsourcing security duties at the Marion distribution center will provide the retailer a greater thoroughness in its security operations, Earnest said.

"It will be offering us more checks and balances, more stringent controls," she said.

That decision was not based purely on budget concerns.

"That's not a strict cost-control decision," she said.

As for its unloading operations, she said it's the industry standard to outsource those duties.

"This restructuring will allow us to save on costs and keep our costs low," Earnest said.

Earnest said these changes are not forced by economic conditions. She said the company still plans to open 450 new stores this year, as well as remodel another 400.

"These were proactive measures the company has taken to make sure we stay competitive and keep costs low for our customers," she said.

The retailer, formerly a publicly traded company, was purchased by a team of private investors in 2007, most notably private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.