Hasbro has announced a huge wave of layoffs that affects over 1,000 staff just before the holidays.
The toymaker, which owns Dungeons & Dragons via its Wizards of the Coast subsidiary, as well as Transformers, Monopoly, Play-Doh, and My Little Pony, is cutting nearly 20% of its workforce, or around 1,100 staff, due to weak sales for toys and games, The Wall Street Journal reported. This is on top of 800 layoffs earlier this year. Hasbro had about 6,500 employees as of the end of last year.
According to the AP, Hasbro wants to save up to $300 million annually by 2025. Chief Executive Officer Chris Cocks said Hasbro will “focus on fewer, bigger brands; gaming; digital; and our rapidly growing direct to consumer and licensing businesses.”
Wizards of the Coast licensed the Dungeons & Dragons setting to developer Larian for the blockbuster video game Baldur’s Gate 3, which has sold millions of copies and won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023. But it seems toy sales are faltering even as the digital and licensing business show growth.
In an email sent to employees on Monday, Cocks said: “We entered 2023 expecting a year of change including significant updates to our leadership team, structure, and scope of operations. We anticipated the first three quarters to be challenging, particularly in Toys, where the market is coming off historic, pandemic-driven highs. While we have made some important progress across our organization, the headwinds we saw through the first nine months of the year have continued into Holiday and are likely to persist into 2024.
“To position Hasbro for growth, we must first make sure our foundation is solid and profitable. To do that, we need to modernize our organization and get even leaner. While we see workforce reductions as a last resort, given the state of our business, it’s a lever we must pull to keep Hasbro healthy.
“I know this news is especially difficult during the holiday season. We value each of our team members – they aren’t just employees, they’re friends and colleagues. We decided to communicate now so people have time to plan and process the changes. For those employees affected we are offering comprehensive packages including job placement support to assist in their transition.”
The layoffs are expected to be completed in the next 18 to 24 months.
Image credit: Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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