Hasbro cutting 1,100 jobs as toy sales slow
Hasbro cut 800 positions earlier this year
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Toy manufacturer Hasbro Inc. is laying off nearly 20% of its global workforce after facing back-to-back quarters of falling toy sales.
CEO Chris Cooks said in a Monday memo to staff that the cuts will affect approximately 1,100 employees. This comes in addition to the roughly 800 job cuts that were already made earlier this year, according to Cooks.
The chief executive acknowledged that this news is "especially difficult during the holiday season," but that Hasbro, the maker of Monopoly and Candy Land, faced weak toy sales throughout 2023, including during the holiday shopping season.
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The company projected that trend to continue into the new year.
Hasbro Inc. signage is displayed on a Baby Alive brand doll box in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 20, 2019. (Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"We anticipated the first three quarters to be challenging, particularly in Toys, where the market is coming off historic, pandemic-driven highs," Cooks told staff, adding that "the headwinds we saw through the first nine months of the year have continued into Holiday and are likely to persist into 2024."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HAS | HASBRO INC. | 62.52 | +0.61 | +0.99% |
RETAILERS CAUTIOUS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON TO AVOID EXCESS INVENTORY
To better position the company for growth, Cooks said it needs to ensure the "foundation is solid and profitable," which includes becoming leaner.
"While we see workforce reductions as a last resort, given the state of our business, it’s a lever we must pull to keep Hasbro healthy," Cooks added.
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Many of the employees who were impacted will be notified by Tuesday, although the timings will vary by country. The majority of the notifications will happen over the next six months, according to a regulatory filing.
The layoffs will be completed over the next 18 to 24 months, the company added.