Hasbro said it would cut 1,000 jobs and announced the departure of its chief operating officer as the US toy maker revealed preliminary fourth-quarter results that were worse than previous expectations.
Chief Executive Officer Chris Cox said in a statement Thursday afternoon that the job cuts, which account for about 15 percent of its global workforce, are “essential to returning our business to an industry-leading competitive position.”
Hasbro said they’ll help keep the company on track to meet its goal, as part of a plan announced last October, of $250 million to $300 million in annual costs by the end of 2025.
The company, which makes board games and Transformers toys, said its chief operating officer Eric Neiman will be leaving as a result of organizational and business changes. In its latest annual report, the company said it employed 6,640 people worldwide.
In preliminary results released Thursday, Hasbro said revenue in 2022 was about $5.86 billion, down 9 percent from last year, or a 6 percent decline in constant currency terms. It was worse than the October forecast, when it was lowered its forecast for the full yearand analysts’ expectations of more than $ 6.1 billion.
The company also had a poor holiday season, which is usually a crucial sales time for toy makers and retailers. Hasbro’s revenue in the three months ended Dec. 26 was $1.68 billion, down 17 percent from a year earlier and below Wall Street’s median forecast of $1.92 billion.
Hasbro shares fell more than 7 percent in after-hours trading in New York on Thursday. At the end of the regular session, its shares have risen 4.5 percent since the beginning of 2023, but have fallen about 29 percent over the past 12 months.
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