Global brand toy maker and entertainment company, Hasbro, Inc., will lay off approximately 15% of its workforce this year to cut costs. The layoffs, which will affect approximately 1,000 global full-time positions, will begin over the next several weeks.
“The elimination of these positions will affect many loyal Hasbro employees, and we do not take this process lightly. But our changes are necessary to return our business to a competitive, industry-leading position and provide a foundation for future success.” Hasbro CEO Chris Cox said.
The company behind Monopoly, Play-Doh, Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons has announced leadership changes as well as a new organizational model and business alignment.
The company said that with these activities, along with ongoing systems and supply chain investments, Hasbro has hit its 2025 annual operating cost savings goal to achieve profitability and reinvestment by 2025. Progress”.
Focus on a few big brands
“While Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming, Hasbro Pulse and our licensing businesses had strong growth, our consumer products businesses underperformed in the fourth quarter due to a challenging holiday consumer environment,” Cox said.
“We are focused on implementing transformational changes aimed at significantly reducing costs and increasing our growth rate and profitability. While full-year 2022, and especially the fourth quarter, represents a challenging time for Hasbro, we are confident in our Blueprint 2.0 strategy. It was announced in October, which includes, among other things, big brands, games, Digital, and includes a focus on our fast-growing direct-to-consumer and licensing businesses.
Cox continued, “With this strategy, we put the consumer at the center of everything we do, and our operational excellence program is underway to deliver significant cost savings across the business and improve our overall competitiveness. Results, particularly margin and revenue growth in key categories, in a challenging fourth quarter and 2023 beyond.” Growth lays the foundation.
As part of these organizational and business changes, President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Niemann is leaving Hasbro. At this time, the consumer products business reports directly to the CEO.
