Wayfair and Macy’s to cut thousands of jobs

Retail layoffs hit especially hard this week.

Online furniture seller Wayfair is cutting about 1,650 jobs, or 13% of its global workforce. Macy’s is laying off about 3.5% of its total headcount, which amounts to roughly 2,350 employees, and the department store is closing five locations.

Wayfair announced its latest job cuts Friday. The restructuring will reduce team sizes across the company and reduce seniority in certain roles with the company planning to “rebuild with modified leveling” this year, CEO and cofounder Niraj Shah said.

“The natural question is to ask ‘Why?’” he wrote in a Friday memo to employees. “I think the reality is that we went overboard in hiring during a strong economic period and veered away from our core principles, and while we have come quite far back to them, we are not quite there.”

Friday’s job cuts are expected to bring annualized cost savings of more than $280 million, Wayfair said. The company anticipates incurring about $70 million to $80 million in restructuring costs, mostly for employee severance and benefits, primarily in the first quarter of 2024.

Macy’s confirmed layoffs to The Associated Press via email — with the New York company saying it made the difficult decision as it prepares “to deploy a new strategy to meet the needs of an everchanging consumer and marketplace.”

The five stores to be closed include two in California — one in Simi Valley and another in San Leandro. Additional stores will be shuttered in in Arlington, Va.; Lihue, Hawaii; and Tallahassee, Fla., according to a spokesperson for Macy’s Inc.