Beyond Inc. plans to lay off 20% of its workforce, the company disclosed in an 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. Most of the job cuts will be implemented in the upcoming fourth quarter, the company said in the regulatory document.
Additionally, Chief Product Officer Carlisha Robinson was terminated without cause on Tuesday as part of the workforce reduction, the company said. She was appointed chief customer officer in March. Conditions of Robinson’s termination entitles her to severance benefits, the company said.
Beyond estimates the job cuts will result in annualized reduction of fixed costs by about $20 million. “These actions were taken to strategically create a more variable, leverageable cost structure and create a more streamlined organization to align to its asset-light business that supports an affinity and data monetization model with a strong technology focus,” the company said in the SEC filing.
Notice of the layoffs comes about a week after the company announced two significant investments in other retailers totaling $65 million. On Oct. 15, Beyond announced it would invest $40 million in The Container Store through a strategic partnership. That deal is contingent on The Container Store refinancing or amending its borrowing terms with lenders. If it moves forward, Beyond would have a 40% stake of The Container Store.
On Monday, Beyond announced a strategic partnership with Kirkland’s Home. In that deal, Beyond plans to invest $25 million in debt and equity in the home decor retailer. Part of that agreement is expected to once again give the Bed Bath & Beyond brand a physical store footprint some 18 months after the company’s former corporate entity filed for bankruptcy and closed all its locations. Beyond bought the brand out of bankruptcy and revived it as an online-only retailer.
Beyond is the parent of Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, Zulily and other home decor brands. The company did not immediately respond to a Wednesday request for comment from Retail Dive regarding what roles the separating employees held, their work location and if they will receive severance benefits.
In a separate SEC filing dated Sept. 16, Beyond also said it agreed to sell its corporate headquarters in Midvale, Utah, to the government of Salt Lake County for $55 million. The headquarters property includes an 18.6 acre parcel of land and the headquarters building.
As of last month, the company still owed $34.5 million for the headquarters building. The company said it would repay debt using the proceeds from the sale, which has an anticipated closing date of around Nov. 30. Beyond also said it planned to lease back about 5,000 square feet of the building for the next five years to maintain its data center.
