Surfstitch axes 40 staff

SurfStitch will axe 40 staff from its US operations by the end of October, 2016.

The Group announced the move as part of a strategic review of operations in the US.

The review includes an assessment of the Group’s long term strategy and operations in the US and extensive analysis around future sustainable and profitable growth.

SurfStitch CEO Mike Sonand said the decision is part of a focus on returning to profitability and being cash-flow positive during FY17.

"Where required, we can support US customers from both our UK and Australian operations, with a much lighter local presence and without compromising on service.

"This was not an easy decision to make, but we need to remain competitive in an extremely challenging North American environment, that has been particularly impacted by margin compression."

The restructure is not expected to result in any business disruption and customers and vendors will receive continuous operation and order fulfilment through the transition.

The workforce reduction will be achieved through voluntary and involuntary layoffs.

SurfStitch will provide a comprehensive review of its trading performance and an updated outlook in its full year results presentation in August, including detail of the impact of the US restructure and other key initiatives for FY17.