Pandora Americas lays off 70

Baltimore--Pandora Americas, which covers the United States, Canada and Latin America, has restructured its field organization and laid off 70 people from its visual merchandising team, the company confirmed Friday.

The loss of 70 jobs represents 6 percent of Pandora Americas’ approximately 1,250 employees. Company spokeswoman Keshia Holland said some of those who lost their jobs will be re-hired as territory managers, though the exact number that would be offered new positions with the company was not known as of press time. As part of the restructuring, Pandora Americas has shrunk its territory size, creating openings for new territory managers both out in the field as well as within the company’s headquarters in Baltimore.

She said those who were released were given severance packages, though she could not provide details on those packages, and all have the opportunity to apply for the open positions.

According to Pandora Americas, the layoffs did not come as the result of an order from company headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark but, rather, a decision by the team here to streamline how visual merchandising is handled.

Previously, retailers who had multiple Pandora accounts--for example, carrying Pandora in their own store while also serving as a franchisee for one or more Pandora boutiques--would have multiple points of contact for in-store displays. Now, they will have just one person to call for all their stores.

Commenting on the layoffs, Pandora Americas President Scott Burger said, “Decisions, like this one, are not made lightly. But this decision will ensure future growth and a streamlined process for the organization and our business partners. The new one-point-of-contact model will streamline account management and visual merchandising oversight.”

He added that he was proud of the accomplishments of the field team.

Editor's note: This story was updated following publication to correct the number of employees at Pandora Americas. The company originally stated it had 650 employees but later said the number actually was 1,250.