Online home furnishings retailer Wayfair is cutting 870 jobs, including 400 in its home city of Boston, as the company reacts to sales declines brought on in part by steep inflation.
Chief executive Niraj Shah announced the job cuts in a memo to all 18,000 employees on Friday morning. All North American workers were to be told on Friday if their jobs are affected, while those conversations already had begun with employees in Europe and Asia.
The company is offering severance based on geography, tenure, and job level. In the US, for example, Wayfair is offering a minimum of 10 weeks of pay, as well as continued vesting of employee equity through October.
The layoffs represent about 5 percent of the company’s global workforce, and 10 percent of its corporate team. The company expects to spend $30 million to $40 million related to the workforce reduction, a figure that primarily reflects severance costs.
