We kinda saw this coming.Williams-Sonoma is cutting 18% of its full-time staff, or about 1,400 jobs, Bloomberg reports, after same-store sales during the holiday season dropped 24% year over year. The home-furnishings chain is also closing a call center and a warehouse.A company statement says that the retailer isn't closing stores (it's actually projecting 2% growth this year, but that seems pretty inevitable, right?Williams-Sonoma operates 626 stores under its company name, Pottery Barn, West Elm and other concepts.Industry observers have long said that home furnishings chains would get hit hard due to the tanking housing market. Can Williams-Sonoma continue to hang on without mass closures?

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