eBay, REI, and Macy’s among retailers slashing their workforces

January is often the most common month for layoffs, and it seems this year is no different.

Earlier last month, eBay announced it would cut 1,000 full-time workers, or roughly 9% of its workforce. CEO Jamie Iannone explained that the company’s workforce and expenses had outpaced eBay’s growth.

• “To address this, we’re implementing organizational changes that align and consolidate certain teams to improve the end-to-end experience, and better meet the needs of our customers around the world,” Iannone said in a letter published on the company’s website.

REI CEO Eric Artz announced that the company would be slashing 357 roles. He told the remaining employees to brace for a challenging year. Most of the cuts affected workers from REI’s headquarters and distribution centers.

• Artz explained that outdoor specialty retail broadly has seen sales declines over the past year, “and that trend has been worsening.”
• “While we were able to outperform this trend for much of the last year, it caught up to us in Q4 and we now expect conditions to remain very challenging throughout 2024,” he said.

Macy’s will close five stores and lay off 2,350 employees. According to a company memo, Macy’s plans to introduce more automation into its supply chain, the Wall Street Journal reported.

• Additionally, it plans to outsource some of the jobs it got rid of but did not say specifically which ones.
• Over the past year, Macy’s has attempted to restructure its store model to include smaller format stores that appeal to younger shoppers.
• Macy’s is also a potential target to be acquired and taken private. The company last month rejected a $5.8 billion takeover bid.

Other companies that announced layoffs in January included Thinx, Wayfair, and Levi’s.