Former employees of Best Buy’s Geek Squad report mass layoffs, with individuals receiving short notice and being let go due to financial constraints. Best Buy’s CEO mentioned the redirection of corporate resources towards areas like AI and lower industry sales as reasons for the layoffs. The company is also focusing on driving efficiencies in Geek Squad repair operations and exploring opportunities in Best Buy Health. The layoffs are part of a larger effort to rightsize the business and update store departments. The job’s high turnover rate and relatively low pay have been noted by current and former Geek Squad employees.
Why do we care?
I wanted to cover this as it concerns specific layoffs at a large player in the IT services market. It’s very popular to dismiss Best Buy. I want to observe that just as not every IT provider is best in class, neither is every customer or customer segment. Geek Squad serves residential and SMB businesses and, at some level, defines the “base” of expectations. They do matter.
Do I believe the AI reasoning? No, not yet. That said, AI could make quite a difference in basic support options, and a larger company certainly will be able to leverage it.