HAS - Hasbro says headwinds will persist into 2024 as it announces layoff

2023-12-12 10:21:47 ET

Hasbro Inc (NASDAQ: HAS) opened in the red today after revealing plans of trimming another 900 jobs globally.

Hasbro expects weakness in 2024

The announcement arrives more than a month after the multinational warned of a weak holiday quarter this year as consumers remain cautious on discretionary spending.

And now that weakness is expected to “persist into 2024” since “market headwinds have proven to be strong and more persistent”, as per an email Chris Cocks – the Chief Executive of Hasbro Inc wrote to employees on Tuesday.

In August, the Nasdaq-listed firm signed an agreement to sell its eOne unit to Lionsgate for about $500 million. Hasbro Inc plans on using proceeds from the said deal to lower its debt.

Its shares have lost about 35% since the first week of September.

Hasbro to exit its Providence office

Note that the multinational has already lowered its global headcount by 800 since January of 2023.

On Tuesday, Hasbro Inc also said that it will exit its office in Providence, Rhode Island in January 2025 (end of lease term) as it wasn’t being fully used.

The U.S. toymaker is now committed to delivering about $350 million to $400 million worth of annual run-rate cost savings by the end of 2025. Its previous guidance was for up to $300 million only.

Still, Jason Haas – a Bank of America analyst recently downgraded Hasbro stock to “neutral” and lowered his price target on it as well to $53.

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