Borders to cut 10 percent of corporate jobs

Borders Group Inc said on Thursday it is laying off about 10 percent of its corporate staff in an effort to contain costs as it contends with dwindling sales.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company is cutting 124 jobs, primarily in its finance and information technology divisions, in part to save money following the recent integration of the computer systems used in its Waldenbooks stores and its namesake superstore locations.

There's an ongoing need to balance the payroll and the overhead with the sales performance, Borders spokeswoman Anne Roman told Reuters.

No executives were affected by the cuts, Roman said.

The news comes just two days after former Chief Executive Ron Marshall quit Borders to take the helm at grocery chain Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Chief Merchandising Officer Mike Edwards is serving as interim boss while the company searches for a new chief executive.

Borders, the No. 2 U.S. bricks-and-mortar bookseller, has been contending with a sharp drop in sales as more book buyers move online. Comparable sales at its superstores fell 14.6 percent during the 11-week holiday period that ended January 16.

About 88 of the affected jobs are at Borders' headquarters, with another 36 jobs cut elsewhere in the United States. The company is also eliminating cutting 40 positions at distribution centers in California and Tennessee.

The company has about 22,500 employees, primarily in the United States, and operates 515 superstores. It is in the process of closing down 183 Waldenbooks stores and will have only 148 of those locations by early February.

Shares were down 4 cents, or 4.3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; editing by Gunna Dickson)