EToys To Eliminate 700 Jobs

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” EToys, the troubled Internet toy retailer, will slash its work force by more than two-thirds and close its European operations. <br><br>After markets closed Thursday, the company said

Friday, January 5th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” EToys, the troubled Internet toy retailer, will slash its work force by more than two-thirds and close its European operations.

After markets closed Thursday, the company said that 700 of its 1,000 eToys and BabyCenter employees will be let go. About 380 were being fired Thursday, while the rest will lose their jobs by the end of March, when the company may run out of operating cash.

EToys, whose stock has lost more than 99 percent of its value in the past year, said it will also close its warehouse operations in Commerce, Calif., and Greensboro, N.C., during the next 30 to 60 days. The e-tailer will consolidate them into existing facilities in Ontario, Calif., and Blairs, Va.

Shares of EToys were at 15.6 cents, down nearly 29 percent at the end of regular trading on Thursday. The company's stock bounced back more than 10 percent in after-hours trading, presumably in reaction to the layoffs.

EToys said it will continue to consider a range of strategic options, including a merger, asset sale, investment in the company or financial restructuring.

In mid-December, the retailer revised its earnings estimates and warned it would have to lay off staff because of poor holiday sales during the Thanksgiving holiday.

It also said it had only enough cash on hand to operate through the end of March.

At the time, the company blamed poor sales on ``a harsh retail climate'' caused by concerns over the economy, current attitudes toward Internet retailing, and consumers who have been ``meaningfully distracted by the presidential election and its aftermath.''