REI announced a small number of layoffs at its headquarters and some stores. According to a report in the Seattle Times, the layoffs represented a “limited number” of employees and most the eliminated positions were in “support” areas.
Spokeswoman Libby Catalinich said REI is making changes at its stores to “help us focus on our customer and provide more scalability.”
The layoffs began a few weeks ago and are complete. Plans are in place to hire an undisclosed number of employees in the coming months, for an expected “net increase” in headquarters jobs by year’s end, Catalinich told the Seattle Times.
“The shifts we made support the needs of our business and growth strategy. Out of respect for those individuals whose positions were eliminated, we’re not providing specifics on the total number or which areas were impacted,” REI said in a statement,
Earlier, REI reported net income of $29.01 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, after increasing its patronage dividend to co-op members by 9.0 percent to $89.3 million. Sales reached $1.93 billion, up 7.3 percent from 2011. Gross profit increased 4.5 percent to $802.6 million, or 41.5 percent of net sales, down 9 basis points from a year earlier.
