The number of Vans headquarters employees impacted by parent VF Corp.’s restructuring amounts to 42, according to the footwear maker’s notice to the state.
Costa Mesa-based Vans said its layoffs are effective Jan. 30, according to its filing. Reports of layoffs first surfaced in November and indicated about 500 cuts across the VF Corp. organization and its portfolio of brands. VF didn’t disclose at the time how many jobs would be eliminated at each brand.
VF also owns The North Face, Dickies, Supreme and Timberland among other brands.
Vans’ struggles to right its business have weighed on VF’s financials as one of its largest divisions. The shoe brand’s turnaround has taken much longer to stick, leaving investors – particularly activists – growing short on patience with the company.
The efforts to right Vans included changing the executive team, bringing in Kevin Bailey as global brand president and emphasizing product development innovation. Bailey then stepped away in October from leading Vans to assist with the overall VF turnaround as executive vice president and chief transformation officer. Meantime, new VF CEO Bracken Darrell is filling in at Vans until a permanent replacement is found.
Under Darrell, VF rolled out in October a turnaround plan called Reinvent that focuses on improving Vans, streamlining the management structure and trimming costs.
Vans sales were down 23 percent in constant currency to $748.8 million in the most recent reported quarter, which ended Sept. 30. The Vans business is so far down 23 percent to $1.5 billion in the first half of VF’s fiscal year.
Vans is currently VF’s second largest brand by revenue after The North Face.
Results for VF’s fiscal third quarter will be released Feb. 6.
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