CarMax Cuts 145 More Jobs as New CEO Pushes for 'Leaner' Workforce Despite Rising Sales

CarMax has cut another 145 corporate jobs, as the used-car retailer pursues a leaner corporate workforce under new CEO Keith Barr. The affected employees were informed Friday and include workers at CarMax's corporate offices in Richmond, Dallas, and Atlanta, as well as its Edmunds subsidiary in California.

The company said the affected employees 'no longer need to report to work' after being informed of the cuts. The reductions mark at least the second major round of CarMax job cuts this year.

Another Blow for Corporate Workers

CarMax's latest cuts largely affect salaried employees across technology, human resources, product, accounting, and marketing. 'We have made the difficult decision to reduce our corporate office staffing by approximately 145 associates to support our strategic priorities and operate with a leaner corporate workforce,' CarMax said.

'These changes will help us move faster and create better alignment across teams,' the company added. 'By running leaner as an organisation, we are positioning CarMax to be more competitive, drive sustainable growth, and provide even more value for our customers.'

Employees affected by the cuts will receive pay through 2 October and remain eligible for severance and outplacement support. The company said it was grateful for the affected employees' contributions and that they could apply for about 70 open corporate roles, as well as field roles.

CarMax Already Cut 230 Jobs in January

The recent layoffs follow a larger workforce reduction in January, when CarMax eliminated approximately 230 positions, including 113 in the Richmond area and covered home office and CarMax auto finance positions.

The company also eliminated about 350 jobs nationally in October 2025 in a reorganisation of its customer experience centre operations. In summer 2024, CarMax cut about 415 positions nationwide, according to reports. The successive reductions come as CarMax works to lower expenses and reshape its corporate cost structure.

New CEO Puts Leaner Strategy in Focus

The workforce changes follow Keith Barr's appointment as CarMax's president and CEO in March, roughly six months ago. Barr, a longtime hospitality executive and former CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group, succeeded Bill Nash as CarMax CEO.

Under him, CarMax has outlined four strategic pillars: giving customers every reason to choose the company, making the shopping experience easier, adding value on each transaction, and running lean. 'Our goal is clear: deliver strong unit sales and earnings growth that enables us to consistently reward our shareholders,' he said in June. The company has also said it is targeting $200M in exit-rate savings in selling, general, and administrative expenses by the end of fiscal 2027.

Sales Rise as Profit Falls

CarMax's current financial results present a mixed picture. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, net sales and operating revenues climbed 6.2% year over year to $8.01B. Combined retail and wholesale used-vehicle unit sales rose 3.3% to 392,357.

However, several key profitability measures declined. Net earnings fell 11.8% to $185.6M from $210.4M a year earlier, while total gross profit declined 4.4% to $854.4M. Retail used-vehicle gross profit per unit also declined to $2,177 from $2,407. CarMax said SG&A expenses fell 3.7%, primarily because of lower compensation and benefits costs, as the company made progress toward its targeted reductions.

CarMax, which describes itself as the US's largest used-car retailer, has approximately 28,000 associates and more than 255 store locations nationwide. During fiscal 2026, the company sold about 780,000 used vehicles and 540,000 wholesale vehicles.