Cost Cutters, Supercuts, SmartStyle Owner Snips 290 Jobs: What Does It Mean For Regis?

Haircare company Regis Corporation (RGS) is restructuring its salons in an effort to improve performance and cut costs. The company is transitioning to a full franchised structure and will eliminate 290 jobs in the process.

Regis said it has already eliminated administrative cost as well as employees that supported its company-owned and -operated hair salons. The job cuts also include 290 positions in the U.S. and Canada, including 15 contract jobs.

The company said the job cuts are expected to provide about $18.7 million in savings.

Regis has 7,092 global locations, which were franchised, owned, or held ownership interests as of Sept. 30, 2019. The company operates under the Supercuts, SmartStyle, Cost Cutters, Roosters, and First Choice Haircutters brands.

“We are pleased that we are at a point in our transformation where we can continue efforts underway to re-engineer our cost structure,” Hugh Sawyer, president and CEO at Regis, said in a statement.

“Although this phase of our transformation is certainly difficult, it is necessary in order to properly allocate capital and human resources to support investments in our rapidly growing franchise business. We have been successful in transferring salons to franchisees at a faster rate than we originally expected, which allowed us to take these actions early in the new calendar year.

“While redesigning our cost structure is an important aspect of our strategy, we recognize these changes represent a deeply personal impact to our employees and their families and we are grateful for the many contributions they have made to the historical achievements of Regis,” he added.

Shares of Regis stock were down 1.16% as of 10:57 a.m. EST on Friday.