Bidenomics in Action: Best Buy's 'Geek Squad' Tech Support Unit Hit with Massive Layoffs

Retail giant Best Buy is conducting massive layoffs within its Geek Squad tech support division, leaving numerous employees suddenly jobless and struggling to come to terms with their unexpected termination.

According to reports from 404 Media, who spoke directly with several affected employees, the layoffs were communicated abruptly last week. Geek Squad members were instructed to work from home and await a phone call from their superiors, which would ultimately determine their employment status.

Best Buy posted declines in fiscal 2022 second quarter profits and sales as the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain struggled with weakening consumer demand for gadgets and high costs that rippled through its supply chain. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Best Buy has not responded to requests for comment regarding the number of employees affected by the layoffs. However, a laid-off worker who spoke to 404 Media indicated that the scale of the cuts is significant, stating, “it’s definitely company wide and bigger than the cuts last summer.”

One employee told 404 Media, “It sucks, I spent more than half my life with this company and sacrificed a lot of personal time and experiences just to be let go.” The worker also revealed that they hadn’t been scheduled for a full 40-hour workweek since the previous year, making it challenging to make ends meet.

Another former employee, who had been with Best Buy and Geek Squad for over a decade, shared their experience of the layoffs. “We were notified via email Tuesday about a ‘work from home event’ taking place Wednesday about a ‘company change,'” they said. “Our leadership gave individual calls stating we were being let go for the simple fact that the company couldn’t afford to pay us, more or less. It was extremely short notice and devastating.”

Layoffs have become a regular occurrence within the company, creating a destabilizing environment for workers. Best Buy employees have begun referring to these mass layoffs as “snaps,” drawing a parallel to the actions of the villain Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One employee claimed that the company has been consistently cutting departments and services, sometimes by half, leaving many areas operating with skeleton crews. They also alleged that Best Buy has eliminated in-home agents for troubleshooting PC issues and is now directing customers to resolve problems through online chats.

This latest wave of layoffs follows a similar pattern from the previous year when Best Buy laid off hundreds of employees at its retail stores, citing “macroeconomic headwinds” as the reason behind the cuts. The company plans to close an additional 15 stores by 2025.