Marr Resigns, Staffmark Looks to LR
by January 21, 2002 12:00 am 122 views
Don Marr announced on Jan. 9 that he will resign as chief operating officer of Staffmark.
Andrea Edwards, a spokesperson for Staffmark, said Marr’s resignation will become effective Feb. 28.
“He has made a decision to stay here for personal reasons,” Edwards said. “This is his home. He wants to stay here. … Things are moving, and he doesn’t want to move. This is very amicable.”
Marr’s resignation comes a month after Staffmark issued a press release saying it is consolidating support functions with Stephens Group Inc. of Little Rock.
In 2000, Stephens purchased the StaffMark commercial staffing division of StaffMark Inc. (now Edgewater Technology Inc. of Massachusetts) for $190 million. Stephens lowered the uppercase “M” in the name and has been operating Staffmark as a separate staffing business. (Stephens has also filed suit against Edgewater alleging fraud in the deal.)
“The purpose of this project is to identify and realize cost savings opportunities that could result from the consolidation of certain common functions between our two organizations,” David Bartholomew, CEO of Staffmark, said in the Dec. 13 press release. “We believe this initiative will allow us to be more competitive in the marketplace and will ensure our long-term success.”
Edwards said the “cost-savings opportunities” will translate into some job layoffs, but she couldn’t guess at how many.
“There will be some jobs eliminated in the Fayetteville office,” she said.
“Consolidating support functions from our Fayetteville corporate center into the Stephens organization in Little Rock will allow us greater flexibility in meeting the diverse and changing needs of our clients,” Bartholomew said in the release.
“While current economic conditions are creating significant challenges for the staffing industry in this country, we believe this industry offers a tremendous opportunity for growth in the long term,” Warren Stephens, president and CEO of Stephens Group, said in the press release. “These consolidation measures are designed to preserve Staffmark’s ability to capitalize on future market opportunities when the health of the economy improves.”
Marr has been active in the Fayetteville community and has served on the Fayetteville Planning Commission for the past two years.
Edwards said Marr remains financially invested in Staffmark.