Worked for the JCPenney company for a number of years, in the beginning I thought that I had finally found a career that was long lasting and challenging. The downturn in the economy hurt the company more than people know, in my case I was given great performance reviews and thought that I was doing a good job. However, JCPenney went into survival mode and cut around 300 management positions effective April 1st 2011. These cuts had nothing to do with job performance and from speaking to other managers that I knew where due to pay.
The company is very clearly focused on bringing in younger, CHEAPER talent. It doesn't matter how good you are at your job, you are the minority if you have a family. They do not promote an atmosphere of family they want you to be married to your job and family comes a distant second. In my time there under qualified kids where promoted to better management positions while us "family managers" where left on the outside looking in.
Most recently JCPenney went to a Kohls model for management what they call the CustomerFIRST management structure, before this change was implemented the one and only condition on being considered for one of these new positions in the company was you have to make yourself relocatable up to 250 miles outside of your home store (again not promoting family) This was not true, they most recently offered a manager one of these new positions 860 miles from her home. However, this was only offered to her once they found out she was pregnant with her first child. Family First?
