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 The Kansas City Star is reporting that Musician's Friend will soon be eliminating 75 jobs from its Northland distribution center.
The company filed its notice with the Missouri Department of Economic Development last week.
An exact number of layoffs remain uncertain, said Galen Erickson, vice president of fulfillment at Musician's Friend in Kansas City. Some of the affected workers could find jobs within the warehousing unit or other affiliated retail stores.
Musician's Friend is closing a call center and a retail clearance store at the distribution center. Both business decisions are strategic rather than because of the economic downturn, Erickson said.
"The company will save money from these changes, but they're not being driven by the bad economy," he said. "We're actually holding up pretty well."
The company acquired another music firm with a call center last year, giving Musician's Friend three such operations. Erickson said the decision was made to close the Kansas City call center, which has 60 employees, by late February.
The retail clearance center essentially became obsolete, as Musician's Friend and other companies have moved to selling used instruments online. That store had about 15 employees and will close Jan. 5, Erickson said.
Musician's Friend had about 525 workers at its distribution center before the announced reductions. Musician's Friend moved into its new, 702,000-square-foot distribution center in 2007, expanding from a smaller facility in Kansas City. The company has been located in Kansas City since 2001. | 
