St. Petersburg, Florida’s Home Shopping Network cut about 250 jobs in Q4 2008, and canceled merit increases for 2009.

HSN, which had about 5,500 full-time employees at the end of 2007, also reported a loss of $2.15 billion, versus a profit of $56.5 million in Q4 2008.

Sales were slightly down in November and December.

Demand for high-ticket items like fashion and jewelry continued to fall in the quarter, while categories like electronics, wellness and fitness did better.

The company, which has two operating segments, HSN and Cornerstone Brands, raised shipping prices during Q4 to offset rising shipping and handling costs and fuel charges.

Sales at its HSN segment dropped 4% to $545.9 million, while Cornerstone Brands sales fell 25% to $232.6 million.