Bed Bath & Beyond fires workers, declines to provide total layoffs

Bed, Bath & Beyond is laying-off workers, the retailer said on Thursday, as the company attempts to realign its operations while facing pressure from activist investors to overhaul its entire board of directors.

“We have been, and continue to make significant investments to enhance our omnichannel capabilities, and our stores remain a critical part of our future growth strategy,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement to FOX Business. “Ultimately we had to reduce our headcount. This decision was a difficult but necessary step, and we are committed to treating all associates across the organization fairly and with respect.”

The company declined to provide the number of individuals it fired from its nearly 65,500 workforce.

Bed, Bath & Beyond has suffered from a string of declining quarterly sales. Subsequently, its stock has dropped nearly 80 percent over the past five years.

Earlier this week, activist investor firms Legion Partners Asset Management LLC, Macellum Advisors GP LLC and Ancora Advisors LLC put forward 16 candidates to replace the company’s existing board and CEO, citing the ballooning amount of in-store products and reliance on promotional campaigns to drive traffic, among other justifications.

Chairmen Warren Eisenberg and Leonard Feinstein have overseen the board for the past 48 years, a tenure that has “resulted in an apparent inability to appropriately respond to a changing retail landscape that demands greater aptitude for how to compete in an ominchannel world,” they argued in a letter published on Monday.

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Analysts say Bed, Bath & Beyond’s struggles go beyond leadership and magnify  the increasing competition from ecommerce sites like Wayfair.