Best Buy is laying off Geek Squad tech-support employees at the same time the company is focusing on healthcare, The Verge reported.
Former Geek Squad staffers reported the mass layoffs to 404 Media and posted about them on Reddit, according to the April 5 story. Best Buy hadn't responded to the news outlet's request for comment.
In a February earnings call, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry hinted at coming layoffs to "redirect corporate resources to make sure we have the necessary assets dedicated to areas like AI and other elements of our strategy," the news outlet reported.
The tech retailer has been betting big on "hospital at home," supplying remote monitoring technology and even Geek Squad employees to health systems providing acute care in the home. Its partners include Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham, Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health, and New York City-based NYU Langone Health.
Ms. Barry said in the earnings call that while Best Buy Health is still small relative to its core business, the healthcare arm is expected to grow faster in fiscal 2025 and has driven a higher gross profit rate at the company.