Chewy.com is laying off jobs

The US American online pet retailer Chewy.com is laying off more than 200 workers. The layoffs affect workers at the company’s Plantation headquarters as well as other sites, according to the website TechCrunch.com.

The redundancies are a result of a report by the company that it had to accept cutbacks from inflation-weary pet owners. TechCrunch reported that the layoffs included workers in human relations, recruiting, data and business intelligence and included directors and higher managers, including a vice president.

They followed comments by the company that Chewy’s customers are reacting to higher prices by cutting back on pet treats and shifting from wet to dry food.

“This behaviour is driven by a more fluid macro environment, including high levels of inflation, which have been passed through the industry over the past 18 months,” CEO Sumit Singh said during a second-quarter earnings call with investors on 31 August. Singh said the trend was not yet “concerning” nor a cause for raising “alarm bells” because Chewy offers “value and convenience”.