Wayfair To Cut Nearly 900 Jobs

Wayfair has confirmed its intention to cut nearly 900 employees from the business, following a trading update earlier this month in which the etailer confirmed that revenue had declined by nearly 15% in the second quarter. 

On Friday 19th August, Wayfair CEO and Co-founder Niraj Shah shared the note below with the Wayfair team:

Hi everyone.

As co-founders and leaders of the business, Steve and I know there’s nothing more important than the decisions we make that affect our people. Each of you contributes to the incredible team that delivers every day for our customers and suppliers, and we are constantly impressed by what we’re able to achieve together. It saddens me that, today, I need to share a difficult decision we’ve made to reduce the size of our team.

Over the past few years, we’ve grown Wayfair significantly to keep pace with the ecommerce growth in the home category. We were seeing the tailwinds of the pandemic accelerate the adoption of ecommerce shopping, and I personally pushed hard to hire a strong team to support that growth. This year, that growth has not materialized as we had anticipated. Our team is too large for the environment we are now in, and unfortunately we need to adjust.

I take responsibility for the impact this decision will have on the nearly 900 Wayfairians who will be told today they are no longer a part of building our company’s future. The individuals being impacted have not only made tremendous contributions to the company as colleagues but have enriched us all as our partners and friends. We’re grateful to have worked alongside them, and we will strongly support our colleagues in their next endeavors.

Broadly, the changes we’re making fall into three categories: 1) thinning out management layers to enable team members to focus on execution, 2) aligning our work better with our strategic priorities, and 3) adjusting areas that have simply grown faster than our current revenue trajectory can support. We looked carefully at each decision.

Conversations with those impacted in Europe and Asia have already begun. Here are the next steps for those in North America.

All North American employees will receive an email shortly that will let you know if your role is or is not impacted.

• If your role is impacted, you will receive an invitation to a meeting with one of your leaders and a Talent team member. They will share specific details with you and answer your questions.
• Those who are staying on with Wayfair will hear from your Director or VP about team meetings soon. We will also come together at the next All Company meeting on August 31 to talk more and answer your questions.
• To care for those leaving us, we are offering severance based on geography, tenure and level, including payout of the 2022 Q1 corporate bonus for those eligible. For example, in the U.S. we are offering a minimum of 10 weeks pay, as well as continued vesting of existing equity through October. We will also be providing other benefits and resources, including access to Employee Assistance Program resources and outplacement services, and impacted employees will receive individualized follow-up with more detail.

Our approach during this period is consistent with the last twenty years - we are building for the long term, but coming in each day to chart the next set of steps on the path there. As I’ve shared in previous notes, we are committed to steering Wayfair in a financially responsible manner through this period. We are actively navigating Wayfair towards a level of profitability that will allow us to control our own destiny, while still investing aggressively in the future. We’ve prioritized our work and set clear goals: to focus on the basics, drive cost efficiency and earn more customer and supplier loyalty. This macro environment doesn’t change our belief in the size of the opportunity ahead, and we are moving purposefully to seize that opportunity. Steve and I remain as confident in the future as ever.

For those leaving today, I want to say again how much we appreciate your contributions to Wayfair. Your work will have a lasting impact on the business and each of us. For those staying, I appreciate everything you’re doing to support one another.

Thank you.

- Niraj

Source : Wayfair

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