new york –
Toy maker Hasbro on Monday announced it will cut about 1,100 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, as the toy industry’s downturn continues into the holiday season.
The nearly 100-year-old Rhode Island-based company, which makes Monopoly, Play-Doh and My Little Pony toys, disclosed the layoffs in a memo to employees made public in a regulatory filing. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
The company said the job cuts are in addition to 800 job cuts previously implemented through 2023 as part of an initiative announced last year to save up to US$300 million annually by 2025. He said that. At the end of 2022, the company had 6,490 employees.
Like many toy companies, Hasbro has been struggling with a sales slump after sales soared as parents splurged on toys to keep their kids busy during pandemic lockdowns. Last holiday season, weak demand forced many toy companies to cut prices to get rid of their products. And the challenges continue. U.S. toy sales fell 8% from January to August, according to the latest data from Circana.
“The market headwinds we anticipated proved stronger and more sustained than we had planned,” Hasbro CEO Chris Cox said in a note. “While we have made some significant progress across the organization, the headwinds we saw in the first nine months of this year will continue through the holidays and could continue into 2024.”
Cox said the toymaker will “focus on a small number of larger brands, gaming, digital, and our rapidly growing direct-to-consumer and licensing businesses.”
Hasbro shares fell about 6% in off-market trading on Monday.