Bed Bath & Beyond to lay off more employees to trim costs

(Reuters) – Bed Bath & Beyond will lay off more employees in an attempt to reduce costs, the company said on Tuesday, a week after announcing it was exploring options including bankruptcy.

Last year, company executives had said the home goods retailer was cutting about 20% of its corporate and supply chain workforce.

“As our strategic direction changes and we streamline our operations, it is necessary to right-size our organization to ensure we are equipped for the future,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday, without revealing the magnitude of the new layoffs.

Earlier in the day, Bed Bath & Beyond reported a third-quarter loss of $393 million and said it has started cost reductions of about $80 million to $100 million across its corporate business, including overhead expenses and headcount.

Shares of the company shot up about 20% as retail investors speculated it could be a potential acquisition target.

CNBC, which first reported the latest layoff plans, also said Bed Bath & Beyond would be eliminating the chief transformation officer role currently held by Anu Gupta.

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)