
Bed Bath & Beyond – MIKE MOZART/FLICKR
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Eugene Castagna is out, and his position has been eliminated as part of the company’s corporate workforce reduction initiated Tuesday.
Bed Bath & Beyond will reduce corporate staff at its Union headquarters and other locations where corporate staff is based as part of its previously announced business transformation which included four near-term priorities: resetting cost structure, stabilizing and driving top-line growth, refining its organizational structure, and reviewing assets.
A comprehensive review of its corporate office cost structures resulted in a 7 percent reduction in its corporate staff, including vice presidents, directors, managers and professional staff. The company expects these changes to generate pre-tax net savings of $18.9 million for the remainder of fiscal year 2019, and $30.7 million in future annual pre-tax net savings.
“While decisions that impact our staff are difficult, today’s action is an important step in simplifying our corporate structure and ensuring our resources are aligned with the business we are managing today,” said Interim Chief Executive Officer Mary Winston in a statement. “We remain confident in the underlying business and our ability to leverage the strength of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand and our lasting connection with customers to deliver on our near-term priorities and transform the company.”
All impacted staff were offered severance pay and company support to assist with their job transition.
Bed Bath will continue a further review of its cost structure to identify other cost-savings opportunities.