VF Corp. will conduct additional layoffs as it continues to implement its previously announced transformation plan, the company confirmed Friday.
“VF… has begun a reorganization related to select commercial functions globally, intended to align these organizational structures to its new business model,” a spokesperson for VF said in an emailed statement to sister publication Fashion Dive. “This work relates to the company’s previously announced turnaround strategy. While these decisions are never easy, we are confident this work will result in a stronger foundation that supports the company’s growth and value creation objectives. We’re committed to handling these changes with dignity and respect for all involved and want to thank those impacted through this process for their valued contributions to VF.”
The VF spokesperson declined to say how many people would be affected by these layoffs and did not share any additional details.
In November 2024, VF Outdoor, a subsidiary of VF, announced a round of layoffs that impacted 242 employees at a distribution center in Martinsville, Virginia. Those layoffs took effect beginning Sunday and came ahead of the center’s planned closure in March.
David Swartz, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar Research Services, said that VF has been cutting costs and trying to simplify its business as part of CEO Bracken Darrell’s plan to revive the company.
“On the last earnings call, VF suggested that it is ahead of the original plan of $300 [million] in annual cost savings,” Swartz said in emailed comments. “Darrell seems to believe that there was too much bureaucracy at VF and that this has been hurting the business.”
In its October earnings report, VF posted $2.8 billion in revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, representing a 6% year-over-year decline. Revenue for the period dropped at all of the company’s largest brands, including Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies.
The company also sold its Supreme brand last year as part of its larger plan to get its business back on track.
Less than a month after the Q2 earnings were posted, S&P Global Ratings downgraded VF to a “BB” rating, a drop from its previous score of “BBB-.” At the time, S&P said it took a less favorable view of VF’s competitive position as a result of declining revenue and weaker credit ratios.
“VF needs to operate faster and to improve coordination across departments,” Swartz said. “Some of the cost savings will go into new marketing initiatives for Vans and VF’s other brands. VF must get back to generating sales growth and decent operating margins. Thus far, it has been hard to see a lot of progress on the ‘Reinvent’ plan, but I do think it is the right plan to get back to stability.”