Business

Levi's cutting 700 jobs amid pandemic sales slump

Levi's said Tuesday that it will cut 700 office jobs, or about 15 per cent of its worldwide corporate workforce, as it deals with a sharp drop in sales due to the coronavirus pandemic.

San Francisco-based jeans maker says layoffs will save about $100M US a year

The Levi's logo is displayed on jeans in San Francisco on Tuesday. The iconic clothing manufacturer is cutting 15 per cent of its workforce. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Levi's said Tuesday that it will cut 700 office jobs, or about 15 per cent of its worldwide corporate workforce, as it deals with a sharp drop in sales due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The San Francisco-based jeans maker said the layoffs will save it about $100 million US a year and won't affect workers at its stores or factories.

Like other clothing companies, Levi's had to temporarily close its stores due to the virus. Many of the department stores that sell its jeans were also shut.

Levi Strauss & Co. said its second quarter revenue sank 62 per cent to $497.5 million US. It reported a loss of $363.5 million US, after reporting a profit a year ago. Adjusted losses came to 48 cents per share, beating Wall Street expectations, according to Zacks Investment Research.

The company said most of its stores are now open and seeing sales at about 80 per cent of where they were a year ago.

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