Lindt Layoffs: Why Is The Swiss Chocolatier Cutting 300 Jobs?

Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli (LISP.SW) reportedly laid off hundreds of sales and executive positions within its merchandising teams on Monday.

According to KSHB, an NBC affiliate out of Kansas City, as many as 300 jobs will be transitioned to “specialized third-party retail service companies.”

“All affected individuals will receive severance benefits based on their length of service, bonus payment for 2019, and will have an opportunity to be eligible to fill roles with the third-party retail service companies,” Cindy Calvert, Lindt representative told the news outlet in a statement.

The layoffs also included some workers at chocolate company Russell Stover Candies, which Lindt bought five years earlier for $1.5 billion. Lindt also owns the Ghirardelli, Caffarel, Hofbauer, and Küfferle chocolate brands.

Shares of Lindt were up 0.72% as of market close on Tuesday.