Bed Bath & Beyond cuts 2,800 jobs as the retailer copes with declining sales and negative impacts of COVID-19
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- Bed Bath & Beyond is in the process of nixing 2,800 jobs.
- The layoffs will affect corporate and store employees alike, according to a statement from the struggling retailer published Tuesday.
- In the statement, CEO Mark Tritton said that while "saying goodbye to colleagues and friends is incredibly difficult," the company needed to "rebuild the foundation of our business."
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Bed Bath & Beyond is cutting 2,800 jobs from its corporate headquarters and store locations.
The "workforce reduction" is effective immediately, according to a statement published on the struggling retailer's website on Tuesday.
"This action is designed to further reduce layers at the corporate level, significantly reposition field operations to better serve customers in a digital-first shopping environment, as well as realign technology, supply chain and merchandising teams to support strategic growth initiatives," the statement said.
The company did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
In its statement, Bed Bath & Beyond estimated that while it will need to spend $25 million in severance and related costs due to the restructuring, the job cuts will save the company an annual sum of $150 million, at the very least.
"Saying goodbye to colleagues and friends is incredibly difficult, but this component of our comprehensive restructuring program is critical to rebuild the foundation of our business, construct a modern, balanced and durable business model, and meet the structural shift in customer shopping and service preferences that we have seen accelerate as a result of COVID-19," CEO Mark Tritton said in the statement.
According to the company's annual filing, Bed Bath & Beyond had a workforce of around 55,000 full-time and part-time employees as of February 29. The retailer furloughed the majority of its store workers and a number of corporate employees as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Bed Bath & Beyond temporarily closed its entire fleet of stores on March 23, eventually reporting a net loss of $302.29 million in its fiscal first quarter of 2020 – ending on May 30 –with a 49% drop in sales.
In July, the company announced that it would shutter 200 "redundant" stores and "leverage significant lease expirations" in an effort to cut costs. Bed Bath & Beyond also owns retail chains Buy Buy Baby and Cost Plus Inc., but executives said the mass shuttering of locations would mostly impact its namesake stores.
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