Williams-Sonoma cuts staff by 18%
Pottery Barn parent aims to reduce fixed costs
Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, January 22, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO — Retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc., parent company of Pottery Barn, said it will eliminate about 1,400 jobs and close a distribution center and a call center in an effort to reduce its fixed costs.
The jobs cuts, which represent about 18% of the company's workforce, will be spread throughout the company and are not tied to any store closings, the company said.
In addition to the job cuts, the company said it will close its 38,000-square-foot call center in Camp Hill, Pa., and its 500,000-square-foot distribution center in Memphis, Tenn.
The actions will save about $75 million annually and will be completed by Jan. 31, said Howard Lester, chairman and CEO.
Lester said the company will incur pretax charges of $14 million to $15 million in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, which ends Feb. 2. Most of the charges are related to severance pay and lease-related costs.
The company, which recently said same-store sales plunged 24.2% in the eight-week holiday shopping period that ended Dec. 28, operates approximately 625 stores. These include 264 Williams-Sonoma locations, 204 Pottery Barn stores and 94 Pottery Barn Kids stores.
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