Proactive Investors - Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) shares tumbled on Tuesday afternoon on the news the retail chain plans to slash hundreds of jobs globally, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Per the report, which cited people familiar with the matter, the cuts will impact corporate workers and form part of a restructuring plan aimed at making the company “more nimble and less bureaucratic.”
The number of jobs set to be impacted was not disclosed, however, the source told the WSJ that this new round of layoffs is expected to be larger than in September when Gap eliminated about 500 corporate positions.
San Francisco-based Gap reportedly notified the employees it intends to lay off in its international sourcing division on April 18, and the company plans to inform staff about possible layoffs at its headquarters this week.
Gap's reported job cuts come after the company in March posted a much wider-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 as high inflation hit consumer spending.
Many other American firms have turned to headcount reductions to curb their expenses in the current challenging economic climate, including Meta, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Dell and 3M (NYSE:MMM).
Following the news, Gap shares fell 6% to US$9.47 early on Tuesday afternoon.