Gap to eliminate about 1800 positions

Gap Inc. will eliminate about 1,800 positions as part of a broader restructuring plan that aims to speed decision-making and reduce overhead expense, the retailer said April 27.

The roles will be concentrated at the company’s San Francisco headquarters and in upper field positions, interim CEO Bobby Martin said in a statement. The new round of job cuts was reported earlier this week without specifics on the number of employees affected.

The Gap job cuts are in addition to the 500 corporate jobs that Gap eliminated in September. Gap had 95,000 employees as of the end of January.

Over the last year, the company has struggled with sales declines, bloated inventories, the end of a partnership with rapper Ye and a monthslong search for a permanent CEO. Gap is working to simplify its operating model and flatten its organizational structure with the goal of saving $300 million a year.

“We believe these efforts will release untapped potential across our brands, allowing us to show up as a more customer focused, faster, and creative company,” Martin said.

Gap online sales dropped 10% in Q4 from a year earlier, chief financial officer Katrina O’Connell said in a March 9 call with investors. However, Gap online sales increased 29% compared with pre-pandemic 2019. Moreover, digital sales represented 41% of total sales in its fiscal 2022 fourth quarter.

The Gap Inc. is No. 19 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s rankings of the largest online retailers in North America by web sales.

Gap Inc. said its comparable sales, a key gauge for retailers, fell 5% in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a 2.7% decline. Gap expects the revenue decline to continue this year.

The retail brand has been looking for a new CEO since July, when it ousted Sonia Syngal as the company struggled to manage inventory.

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