The only way you can transfer to another position within the same store or even within the company is if they are hiring at the time of your termination. When our store went through this we lost about 10 positions that were eliminated. We were not hiring at the time so they all lost their jobs. A few have been rehired at minimum wage over the last year but most just moved on.
The elimination of the lead position is to get the people who have been with the company for many years to either quit or move on so the company can hire minimum wage people to do the same job for less money and no benefits.