REI lays off hundreds, says it expects tough year ahead

REI is laying off 357 employees as the company braces for a challenging year, CEO Eric Artz told employees on Thursday.

The cuts represent 2.2 percent of REI’s total workforce. According to the memo, layoffs will affect 200 headquarters employees, six from sales and customer support, 30 from teams that support classes and multiday trips, and 121 in distribution centers.

Employees who work in the Seattle-founded company’s stores will not be affected.

The layoffs were primarily driven by financial necessity, Artz said. But the company also “took a strategic approach to evaluating team structures against business needs.”

“While many decisions were based on work that no longer exists, we also focused on reducing duplicative work, layers and hierarchy to build more efficient and connected teams,” Artz said in the memo.

The company is expecting this year’s revenue to be down compared to 2023, a difficult year that saw outdoor specialty retail sales decline. The industry, Artz said, has become more challenging.

In anticipation of lower revenues, “we must adjust our plans and cost structure accordingly,” Artz said.

REI last announced layoffs in October, when it cut 257 retail jobs, including 19 in Washington, in a bid to restructure its brick-and-mortar stores.