PAWTUCKET – More layoffs are coming at Hasbro Inc.
The toy company will in a year’s time also exit its downtown office adjacent to the Amica Mutual Pavilion and Providence Public Library.
According to an internal memo from CEO Christopher Cocks filed Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hasbro will lay off an additional 1,100 employees globally as part of a further company restructuring. This follows its announcement earlier this year that the toy company was
going to cut 1,000 jobs during the year to save up to $300 million annually by 2025. Those layoffs included
a 20% reduction in staff at the company’s film production company, Entertainment One. On Aug. 8, Hasbro sold its eOne television and movie business to Lionsgate in an approximate $500 million deal, after having paid $4 billion for the company four years ago. Hasbro still has access to preschool brands Peppa Pig and PJ Masks, as it kept ownership of the family brands division as part of the deal.
Hasbro’s layoffs at the time amounted to 15% of its global full-time workforce, with only a “small percentage” of those jobs being eliminated in Rhode Island. But in his communication with staff, Cocks said the market headwinds the company anticipated “have proven to be stronger and more persistent than planned” and will likely persist into 2024.
“While we’re confident in the future of Hasbro, the current environment demands that we do more, even if these choices are some of the hardest we have to make,” Cocks said. “To position Hasbro for growth, we must first make sure our foundation is solid and profitable. To do that, we need to modernize our organization and get even leaner. While we see workforce reductions as a last resort, given the state of our business, it’s a lever we must pull to keep Hasbro healthy.”
It is still unclear how many local jobs were cut by Hasbro during the year. Company spokesperson Abby Hodes in an email to Providence Business News on Monday said there will be “moderate impacts” to the company's Rhode Island teams in this latest round of layoffs. She declined to share specific numbers “out of respect for Hasbro employees.”
Cocks also said in the memo that the company will move out of its downtown office when the company’s lease with the building – labeled 1 Hasbro Place, near Empire and Fountain streets – expires in January 2025 and into the company’s Pawtucket headquarters. Hasbro has occupied the former Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island building since 2011.
“It’s an opportunity to reshape how we work and ensure our workspace is vibrant and productive, while reflecting our more flexible in-person cadence since the [COVID-19] pandemic,” Cocks said.
On Oct. 26, Hasbro reported a loss of $171 million in the third quarter of 2023, following a year-ago profit of $129.2 million. For the quarter, Hasbro’s revenue totaled $1.5 billion, a 10% drop year over year, missing Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research were looking for higher revenue of $1.64 billion.
The company cut its full-year revenue outlook again, by 13% to 15%, driven by a softer toy outlook for its consumer products division, which includes toys, games, clothing, music and other categories, according to its last quarterly earnings report on Oct. 26. Its prior guidance was for a decline of 3% to 6%, which was an adjustment from a previous forecast for revenue to be down by low single digits.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
