Wayfair reported a jump in sales during the start of the pandemic as people remained at home and were interested in refurbishing their space and buying online, but it has since announced the layoff of 870 workers. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the online furniture and home décor retailer’s “staff reduction” impacts 5% of its worldwide workforce and 10% of its corporate team.
Wayfair reported a reduction in active customers, orders per customer, order deliveries, and a modest decrease in orders delivered through Wayfair’s mobile app, among other things, in its second-quarter results posted on August 4th. Wayfair’s net sales decreased by about 15% compared to its profitability in 2021.
Companies in several sectors have decreased their teams as a consequence of a shifting sales climate following the pandemic’s peak phase and said they now need to conserve money since expenses have lately climbed and worries of a recession remained. According to the Boston Globe and Forbes, Wayfair fired off around 550 employees in February 2020, with Shah citing Wayfair’s “rapid pursuit of expansion,” which “had its consequences.” Wayfair announced a hiring freeze that will run 90 days in May of this year.
Shopify, an e-commerce platform, fired off 1,000 workers in July. Peloton stated this week that it will let off 800 people (after dismissing 2,800 in February) and close its brick-and-mortar showrooms in 2023. Snap, SoundCloud, Robinhood, and even Netflix have lately laid off staff.
