Online pet goods retailer Chewy lays off 200+ employees

Softthe online pet supply company that sold to PetSmart in 2017 for $3.35 billionbut then separated a few years later, is the latest company to face layoffs, TechCrunch has learned. According to multiple sources, the pet supplier has laid off more than 200 employees – a figure confirmed by Chewy – including those at its plantation, its Florida headquarters and other locations. The company is headquartered in Florida and Boston, with offices in Minneapolis and Bellevue.

Chewy confirmed the layoffs took place across multiple sites and said the number of people affected was more than 200.

According to various sources, we understand that the roles involved spanned HR, recruiting, data and business intelligence, and even included some directors and senior executives, including a vice president. Chewy has not confirmed the eliminated positions, but there is talk of downsizing on discussion forums like Blind, where users report Chewy reduced its workforce by 220 people and noted that the reductions included some engineers, developers, product managers and supply chain staff.

The company would offer a minimum of one month of severance, with additional weeks based on seniority, these users said.

Chewy confirmed the layoffs in a statement.

“As we approach 2024, we have taken the opportunity to consolidate a portion of our workforce and align our efforts on priorities that we believe will enable us to achieve the most significant customer wins and generate the highest commercial returns, to enable us to strengthen the future of the business. said Chewy spokesperson Diane Pelkey. “This is a difficult decision that has been carefully considered as part of our overall strategy and our ongoing goal to become an ever more agile and disciplined company. We are grateful to our team members for their contributions and remain committed to supporting them during this transition,” she added.

Although soft announced a surprise profit of 4 cents per share in his most recent quarter on revenue of $2.78 billion, analysts are concerned about the decline in the number of active users of the e-commerce site, which fell from 20.49 million in last year’s quarter to 20 .39 million.

Chewy CEO Sumit Singh had also expressed concerns about the impact of inflation on its business, creating more cautious consumers who were now buying cheaper items, like dry dog ​​food, instead of wet food and forgo buying pet treats.

“Coming out of the summer months, we sense a shift in consumer mentality, who are more visible and, at the same time, more willing to consolidate their wallet share with the trusted retailer of their choice” Singh said in a call with investors. “This behavior is due to a more fluid macroeconomic environment, including high inflation levels, which has swept through the sector over the past 18 months. Our dialogue with our suppliers confirms that these trends are spreading throughout the pet industry,” he noted.

Chewy had previously been acquired by BC Partners, which also purchased PetSmart for $8.7 billion in March 2015. Chewy went public in 2019 and BC Partners later separated PetSmart and Chewy, but remained a significant shareholder in Chewy’s business. Chewy. British Columbia Partners sold a minority stake in Petsmart to Apollo earlier this year. (Disclosure: Apollo owns Yahoo, TechCrunch’s parent company.) Also earlier in 2023, an advocacy group asked the Department of Labor to investigate the boards of directors of BC Partners due to concerns about overlapping directors – as some directors served on the boards of PetSmart and Chewy, despite the split.