More Worker Cuts Coming at Gap

Gap (San Francisco) plans to trim its ranks by 1800 workers as part of its ongoing efforts to cut costs and become more efficient, CNBC reports.

The layoffs will impact employees at the company’s headquarters as well as those in “upper field” roles, the article says.

This latest head-count reduction comes after the 500 cuts to corporate positions the retailer announced last fall.

“Our goal is to flatten the organization, increase spans of control to create more robust roles and individual empowerment, and decrease layers to remove bottlenecks and make better, faster decisions,” Bob Martin, Gap’s Chairman and Interim CEO, told employees in a memo last week.

The cuts come after Martin told investors during a March earnings call that the apparel retailer’s staff has been “dampened by a complicated organizational structure, bureaucracy and outdated processes.”

At the time, the company didn’t disclose the total number of positions that would be cut as part of the overall restructuring but did note it was eliminating its Chief Growth Officer position.

The retailer — which includes its namesake brand, as well as Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta — has had a tough year as it struggled with a drop in sales, bloated inventory levels and a search for a permanent CEO, CNBC noted.