If you thought layoffs were a tech industry problem, then there are businesses across sectors, including retail, willing to disprove that thought. Canadian-American athleisure brand Lululemon recently announced corporate layoffs amidst a slowdown in its sales and “sluggish” business prospects. Lululemon’s workforce cuts for 2025 are expected to affect 150 of its corporate employees. This is a small number of its apparent 39,000 employees globally, but it is still expected to have a significant impact on the workers who are to be affected.
Streamlining and restructuring appear to be the leading business ideals in 2025, and Lululemon is not immune to seeing it as its best strategy to keep growing despite the economic climate right now. The apparel brand has successfully held on to its “premium” pricing strategy for years now, and it doesn’t appear willing to backtrack on its reputation just yet. Inevitably, this means job cuts at Lululemon, where employees continue to be the easiest resource to sacrifice when times get tough.
The layoffs at Lululemon are just one instance of the job cuts occurring across the apparel industry. (Image: Pexels)
Lululemon Proceeds with Corporate Layoffs Following a Slump in Sales and Rising Costs
We have limited details on the Lululemon job cuts for now. Reports on the company’s 2025 restructuring goals suggest that 150 corporate employees will be affected by the shift, with most of these roles at its Vancouver headquarters. The company is attempting to reposition itself better for the future following shifting consumer appetite and economic strife, but it runs the risk of alienating its customer base in the process.
According to Retail Dive, a spokesperson explained, “Following a recent review, we have decided to evolve some aspects of our organizational structure to operate with more agility and further invest in our growth…This is not a decision we made lightly, and we are committed to supporting our employees through this transition.”
The nature of support being offered to employees has not been made public, but we expect some severance pay to be made available to those who are being let go. Lululemon has not announced whether any specific departments will be targeted by the firm. A report from Daily Mail suggests that the support center team will largely see the 150 employees fired at Lululemon, and the report also claims that these workers will be replaced with AI. We do not have enough evidence to substantiate this claim, as other outlets have not validated these reports.
Lululemon’s Strategy Shift for 2025 Comes amid Rising Tariffs
The corporate layoffs at Lululemon are only one part of the company’s strategic shift to bolster the business. The business is hoping to open around 40 to 45 new stores this year, with “newness and innovations” being the primary factors that draw customers in.
Early in June, the company’s shares fell by over 20% after it was forced to cut its annual profit forecast. Lululemon explained that its store traffic in America had already fallen following the economic changes in the country, reflective of “economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, lower consumer confidence, and changes in discretionary spending.”
Consumers are undoubtedly becoming more cautious with their spending, but companies are also not best placed to bring prices down to encourage shoppers to consider their wares. Lululemon is exploring price hikes with a “small portion” of its products, while cutting costs in some areas and negotiating better deals with vendors, according to the BBC. The company manufactures a significant portion of its products in Vietnam and China, and just like the rest of the apparel industry, it has been hit hard by tariffs that impede its ability to bring its products into key markets.
The Lululemon Job Cuts Are an Example of the State of the Industry as a Whole
Lululemon is not alone in making workforce cuts in 2025. Earlier this year, Nike began laying off workers from its tech division as part of new CEO Elliott Hill’s turnaround strategy. In March, Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden confirmed that the company was set on cutting around 500 jobs, primarily at its headquarters. Puma announced similar cost-cutting layoffs across its global operations, sending 500 of its employees out the door as well.
Not all businesses have explicitly put the blame for the layoffs on the tariffs, as there have been multiple economic challenges overlapping across the globe, but it is apparent that businesses are sweating under the heat of the shifting state of affairs, with employees bearing the brunt of it. While we wait to hear more about the corporate layoffs at Lululemon, we expect to see more companies turn to job cuts this year.
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