As it seeks to put its finances right, Bed Bath & Beyond’s troubles are forcing cuts to its workforce in its original home region of metropolitan New York, with layoffs particularly hitting suburban New Jersey communities.
The Union, NJ-based retailer made a series of filings that disclosed layoffs in multiple sites to satisfy the requirements of the WARN Act, which includes rules regarding organizations disclosing large layoffs.
In New Jersey, Bed Bath & Beyond stated in January WARN filings that it would lay off 262 workers from its Harmon Stores operation, which it is folding, and 572 workers from a Port Reading fulfillment center, which is just a short distance from the New York City borough of Staten Island. The layoffs have effective dates of April 1 and March 28 respectively.
February included two WARN notices, one disclosing 84 layoffs at a Secaucus, NJ, facility, and 377 in suburban Union itself. Effective dates for those layoffs were April 5 and 9 respectively.
In the New York City region, just across the Hudson River, a February 6 WARN notification included 53 additional layoffs, with the reason given as the reduction of store fleet, with the terminations to begin in early May. That followed a February 1 notice of 30 terminations. The New York layoffs also are slated for early May.
Since late January, Bed Bath & Beyond has noted that it would eliminate the Harmon chain, which focused on beauty and personal care products, make cuts to its distribution system and shutter stores, with a significant proportion of closings in New York and New Jersey, as it works to improve its financial position and avoid bankruptcy.
A Bed Bath & Beyond spokesperson, responding to a HomePage News query, noted, “As shared in our strategic update in February, we are moving expeditiously toward a smaller and more profitable store footprint and omni-always model. The difficult but necessary decision to reduce our workforce is one of many important actions we are taking to enable Bed Bath & Beyond to improve our financial position and serve our customers well into the future.”
