Layoffs happen, yes. But sometimes the way they are seemingly decided and then implemented gives the appearance that the upper tier doesn't really have a plan beyond what happened in the last quarter. They need to save "x" amount of dollars, and this will do it, so let's lay off these people in this business. Boom. It is done. Not only does a layoff of even one person within one store begin a ripple effect that affects not only the laid off worker, but it also demoralizes the entire team and leaves them fearing for their own positions. Fear leads to non-magical interactions on the selling floor. Non-magical interactions on the selling floor lead to unhappy customers. Unhappy customers lead to low magic scores and poor sales numbers. And, we all know where that eventually leads.
Macy's is in the midst of an identity crisis and it's scrambling to find itself before it becomes completely irrelevant. The new leadership is not promising - and I don't just mean Jeff Gennette. All of the upper tier seem to be so far removed from the basic operation of a store - what it takes on the daily to make numbers and keep employees happy and showing up, and keep customers coming in and shopping - that they don't have a clue how to fix processes (or at least not make them worse), streamline and cut the fat while keeping the heart of Macy's (it's shopping experience and knowledgeable retail staff) intact.
Final thought: Researching the millennial in an effort to capture the cohort and turn him/her into a lifelong Macy's customer is a smart business move - it is essential to turning things around for dear old Macy's. However, if the top tier of old white men who run Macy's inherently lack the capacity to understand and embrace that demographic (hence the need to deep dive research in the first place), utilize and apply that data to make the kind of business decisions that will make the strategy a success, then they just as soon throw money off the top of Herald Square. All the layoffs in the world won't bridge the generation gap no matter how much they try.