Hasbro has announced that it is cutting 1,000 jobs or about 15 percent of its global workforce after warning that its upcoming holiday quarter results would come in lower than expected.
"The elimination of these positions will impact many loyal Hasbro employees, and we do not undertake this process lightly," said CEO Chris Cocks. "However, the changes are necessary to return our business to a competitive, industry-leading position and to provide the foundation for future success."
The company said the layoffs fit into a larger company goal of delivering $250-300 million in annualized cost savings by the end of 2024. The plan will also bring an organizational overhaul, beginning with the departure of Eric Nyman, president and chief operating officer.
Nyman's department, consumer products, apparently underperformed compared to the rest of the business.
“Despite strong growth in Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming, Hasbro Pulse, and our licensing business, our Consumer Products business underperformed in the fourth quarter against the backdrop of a challenging holiday consumer environment,” Cocks said.
Hasbro said Wizards of the Coast is expected to have generated $339 million in the fourth quarter, a 22 percent increase over the previous year.
The company will report its full fourth quarter results on Feb. 16.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
