Ax falls on 300 L.L. Bean workers

Despite double-digit sales increases in December, L.L. Bean announced that it will lay off as many as 300 staffers during the next two months.

In November, the apparel and outdoor gear cataloger had offered an enhanced early-retirement package to more than 500 employees. As of last month, roughly 200 workers had accepted the offer. L.L. Bean employs 4,300 year-round employees.

The laid-off employees will receive four weeks pay plus an additional week’s pay for each year of service with L.L. Bean. The job cuts are the result of the company’s streamlining efforts, which include automation systems that have reduced the volume of manual labor. A shift in order volume from the telephone to the Internet and last year’s closure of the Freeport Studio apparel catalog also contributed to the layoffs.

"This action is necessary if L.L. Bean is to remain competitive in today’s retail marketplace," president/CEO Chris McCormack said in a company statement. "Declining prices, especially in the retail apparel sector, continue to put pressure on operating margins. Moreover, as we budget annual wage increases for the upcoming year, we also continue to be pressured by ever-increasing healthcare costs. While 2002 will be a solid year financially—a year, in fact, which will show improved results over 2001—we have set an even more challenging 2003 budget designed to position L.L Bean to perform in this highly competitive and price-deflationary retail environment."