Hasbro to Cut 1,100 Jobs as Weak Toy Sales Persist

Hasbro, the toymaker behind popular brands like Peppa Pig, Transformers and Magic: The Gathering, said on Monday that it would eliminate roughly 1,110 jobs, or nearly 17 percent of its work force, as the company continued to grapple with weak sales.

Hasbro’s chief executive, Chris Cocks, said in a memo to staff on Monday that “the market headwinds we anticipated have proven to be stronger and more persistent than planned.”

The layoffs, announced during the critical holiday shopping season, follow a reduction of 800 jobs at the company earlier this year; the toymaker said it expected a majority of the latest cuts to take place over the next six months, with the remainder over the next year.

“We anticipated the first three quarters to be challenging, particularly in toys, where the market is coming off historic, pandemic-driven highs,” Mr. Cocks said in the memo. “While we have made some important progress across our organization, the headwinds we saw through the first nine months of the year have continued into Holiday and are likely to persist into 2024.”

In its third-quarter earnings report, the company had signaled that softer toy sales would dampen its outlook, noting that overall revenue was expected to fall by about 13 to 15 percent for the year.

Shares of the company, based in Pawtucket, R.I., fell about 5.7 percent in after-hours trading. The stock, which closed on Monday at $48.89, was down nearly 19 percent over the past year.

Mr. Cocks also said the company would continue to explore its options to “reduce its real estate footprint,” and would close its Providence, R.I., office after its lease ended in January 2025.