After the cuts, many of the employees, mainly teenagers, left for other jobs where they could get more hours.

"The Circuit City customers were wandering around and would start asking us for help," Eljacifi said. "That's what I've witnessed and I hate about the whole situation."

Customers at the store questioned the move.

"I don't think it's fair," said Hamilton Smith, an 88-year-old retired federal worker who had just purchased some batteries at Circuit City. "You need to give people a living, working wage." He said he would think twice before shopping at the company's stores again.

Circuit City's cuts come at a time when other retailers are trying to put more knowledgeable workers on store floors. Home Depot Inc., whose new chief executive is struggling to reignite sales growth at its stores, said it has raised pay to attract skilled tradespeople, such as carpenters and electricians.

Home Depot is adding 15,000 new jobs this year, according to spokesman Jerry Shields.

Circuit City's move, by contrast, "shows they're positioning for another tough year," said Timothy W. Allen, a Jefferies & Company Inc. retail analyst. Not only will service levels at the store suffer, he said, but "you've lost 3,400 customers-slash-employees."

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Contributing: Daniel J. Caterinicchia