Birks and Mayors cuts staff by 15 percent

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Birks and Mayors cuts staff by 15 percent

By Michelle Graff

May 08, 2009

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Montreal--Chain retail jeweler Birks and Mayors eliminated 73 positions on April 30, and has reduced its workforce by a total of 150 since the beginning of the year, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveals.

According to a Form 6-K filed with the SEC on May 1, the company laid off the 73 workers as part of a "strategic staff downsizing" that will save the company an estimated $2.5 million a year.

"The staff downsizing," the filing states, "is the result of a comprehensive, company-wide efficiency study the company conducted with the assistance of an outside retail consulting group."

Combined with earlier cuts made in January, the layoffs amount to a 15 percent reduction in the company's total workforce.

The layoffs made in April include a "significant reduction" in staff at the company's Rhode Island manufacturing facility, as well as layoffs at stores and in the corporate office, both "due to the decrease in consumer demand associated with the severe economic slowdown in the United States and Canada and the company's decision to consolidate more of its production activities into its Montreal facility."

Montreal-based Birks and Mayors operates the Mayors brand in the United States and the Birks brand in Canada. According to the company's Web site, the chain has 31 Mayors stores in Atlanta and Florida, and 37 Birks stores across Canada.

In National Jeweler's 2008 State of the Majors report, Birks and Mayors ranked among the top 20 North American retailers in terms of store count and ranked No. 24 on the list of $100 Million Supersellers with $294.2 million in jewelry and watch sales in 2007.

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