Wayfair lays off another 340 employees as it adjusts its business to meet market challenges

It is learned that recently, according to foreign media reports, Wayfair announced the layoff of 340 technical team employees and plans to close its technology development center in Austin, Texas, to optimize its business structure.

After the layoffs, Wayfair will retain technology development centers in Seattle, Boston, Mountain View, California, Toronto, and Bangalore, India. Wayfair said that layoffs are part of its technology modernization strategy. In the past five years, Wayfair has completed a number of technology upgrades, including re-platforming and cloud migration, so it decided to adjust the team size to improve operational efficiency and ensure long-term development. Wayfair emphasized that it will continue to improve technology in the future, focusing on personalized recommendations and simplified shopping navigation to enhance user experience and drive business growth.

Wayfair expects severance, benefits and transition costs related to the layoffs to be between $33 million and $38 million, primarily to be paid to affected employees over the next 12 months. This figure excludes non-cash charges related to equity compensation.

The layoffs are Wayfair's second round of large-scale adjustments this year. In January, the company announced its withdrawal from the German market, affecting about 730 jobs, about half of which were transferred to other company offices. Wayfair has laid off employees several times in the past few years, with a total of thousands of layoffs.

In addition, Wayfair plans to increase its investment in generative artificial intelligence to improve productivity and operational efficiency. Recently, Wayfair launched a generative AI tool called Muse, which can provide consumers with AI-generated shopping inspiration and recommend related products to enhance the personalized shopping experience.

Wayfair is still facing the challenge of declining demand in the home furnishing retail industry. The latest financial report shows that the revenue in the fourth quarter reached 3.1 billion US dollars, which was basically flat. However, the loss situation has improved, with operating losses decreasing by 32% year-on-year and net losses narrowing by 26%. Analysts believe that Wayfair's layoffs and cost optimization measures may help improve profitability and enhance competitiveness in the face of sluggish market demand.

Author ✎Rayna/

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