Saks Fifth Avenue plans to lay off 116 staffers in the cosmetics and fragrance department by the end of January. Management says the decision is part of a larger plan to have each of the beauty counters hire its own employees, like 70 percent of the floor already does, including Clinique, Lancôme, and Chanel. The timing of this decision is somewhat suspicious, as it comes right when all the beauty-department workers had been petitioning to unionize. However, the retailer denies that this has anything to do with a potential union. [NYP]
