Online Retailer Wayfair Cutting Hundreds Of Jobs

Online furniture seller Wayfair said Thursday that it is cutting about 550 jobs, or 3% of its total workforce.

Most of the layoffs are at its Boston headquarters and its European office in Berlin. The company has about 17,000 employees worldwide. Shares of Wayfair fell 10% to $86 Thursday afternoon. Its stock has fallen 28% in the last year.

Founded nearly 18 years ago, Wayfair has never made a profit. Although sales have risen as more people become comfortable buying sofas and rugs online, the company spends much of its revenue on shipping, advertising and other costs. In 2019, Wayfair lost $725 million on revenue of $9.1 billion. 

Wayfair said in a statement that it continually evaluates "the needs of the business," and that it is still hiring for other roles. 

"We remain as confident as ever in Wayfair's future," the company said.

Wayfair also runs other online stores under different names, including Perigold, AllModern and Birch Lane. Following other online brands that have opened physical stores, Wayfair opened its first permanent mall store last year.

First published on February 13, 2020 / 3:41 PM

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