Beyond Inc., formerly Overstock, has been making big business moves since it acquired the home goods giant Bed Bath & Beyond for $21.5 million and turned the brand into a fully online retailer in June last year.
Before Bed Bath & Beyond was bought, the brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023 and had to close all its existing stores, as it was $1.8 billion deep in long-term debt.
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This year, Beyond Inc. has already made two huge investments to bring Bed Bath & Beyond back to physical stores like it once was.
On Oct. 15, the company signed an agreement with The Container Store (TCS). Beyond Inc. would invest $40 million in its former rival to showcase and sell Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) products in 102 locations through a preferred equity transaction.
On Monday, Beyond Inc. announced its strategic partnership with another home goods rival, Kirkland's (KIRK), to open five small-format Bed Bath & Beyond stores where Kirkland's would be the exclusive operator and licensee.
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Mass layoffs have become companies' quick fix for cost reductions
When companies undergo difficult financial times, many lean on cutting their workforce to reduce costs when there's little room to do so elsewhere.
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As of this year alone, several big companies have announced mass layoffs: Intel (INTC) announced it would downsize its workforce by over 15%, Tesla (TSLA) laid off 10% of its employees in April, and Paramount Global (PARA) has already announced its second round of layoffs, cutting its workforce by 15%.
Although the list is already long enough, it continues to grow, and now Beyond Inc. has joined the layoff trend as well.
Beyond Inc. makes a startling announcement to its workforce
On Tuesday, Beyond Inc. (OSTK) submitted an 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating that it plans to lay off 20% of its workforce during its fourth quarter of 2024.
With this workforce reduction, Beyond Inc. aims to create a more leverageable cost structure that will better align with its business to support an affinity and data monetization model with a strong technology focus.
The company estimates that this cut will reduce annual costs by approximately $20 million.
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Beyond's Chief Production Officer, Calisha Robinson, who was terminated on Tuesday despite being recently hired for the position in March, was the first to suffer the consequences of the layoffs.
Robinson was tasked with supporting the company's transition to Beyond Inc. and guiding its Bed Bath & Beyond acquisition.
Laying off someone with such an important leadership role could harm Beyond Inc.'s business. However, with so many recent investments, the company needs all the extra money it can get.
On Sept. 16, Beyond Inc. got rid of another big company asset, its corporate headquarters, which was sold to the Salt Lake County government for $55 million.
Although the company has made some big investments, its finances don't appear to be doing well, as shown by its recent cost-cutting strategies.
As of Thursday's market open, Beyond Inc. stock dropped nearly 31% and continues to down-spiral.
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