Lowe’s seeks 100 local seasonal hires

North Carolina-based Lowe's Cos. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is looking to hire 100 seasonal employees in Springfield.

The Missouri Job Center and the Ozark Region Workforce Development Board partnered with the home improvement retailer on hiring events held yesterday and today at Lowe’s Springfield stores at 1707 W. Norton Road and 1850 E. Primrose St., according to a news release. Megan Short with the Missouri Job Center said the jobs would be six-month positions and employees would have a chance to apply for part- or full-time jobs afterward.

The local hires come despite Lowe's recent announcement that 2,400 full-time employees would lose their jobs. A company statement indicated the cuts mostly were at the store level, with others in distribution centers and customer support centers, as well as vice presidents at the corporate office.

In an emailed statement to employees — obtained by The Associated Press — Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock said the changes "will better align store staffing with customer demand, shift resources from back-of-the-store activities to customer-facing ones, and enhance our efficiency and productivity."

Lowe’s has not yet released its fourth-quarter or full-year earnings statement. In the third quarter, the retailer posted earnings of $379 million, which was down 49 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. Lowe's has 2,355 stores and 285,000 employees, according to a separate release.

LOW shares were trading at $72.86 as of 9:57 a.m., compared with a 52-week range of $62.62 to $83.65.