Plagued by office vacancies, shuttered storefronts, and a number of layoffs in the tech industry over the past year, employment in San Francisco continues to show signs of weakness, with clothing giant Levi’s recently announcing a reduction in staff is imminent.
The news comes amid a restructuring at the top of the company.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished over the past twelve years. By putting the Levi’s brand at the center of culture, we revitalized this iconic brand and transformed our financials putting us in a position where we are stronger today,” outgoing CEO Chip Bergh said in a Jan. 25 press release announcing fourth-quarter results and forecasts. “While 2023 was a challenging year, we ended on a strong note, and I am optimistic about the future.”
In response to lagging sales in 2023, the company’s board of directors initiated a plan to reduce costs and streamline operations, beginning in 2024, to help ensure long-term profitability, according to the press release.
A 10 percent to 15 percent reduction in its workforce is a step toward achieving those goals and will help save the company more than $100 million in the 2024 fiscal year, the company estimated. Layoffs will occur in the first half of the year, and more may be on the horizon, the company said.
Looking forward, new Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Michelle Gass said she anticipates positive results as new projects—such as a focus on woven shirts and expanding denim offerings for women—are launched.
“We have a strong pipeline of newness and innovation launching this year to fuel consumer demand,” Ms. Gass said in the press release. “The success of these strategic initiatives drove our growth in the fourth quarter and position us to create outsized long-term shareholder value in the years ahead.”
Founded in San Francisco in 1853 with its headquarters located downtown, Levi’s is forever linked to the city by the bay and Forty Niners lore. While the company made its name selling supplies to miners looking to strike it rich, it’s now linked by way of naming rights for the football team’s stadium—recently renewed at a price of $170 million for 10 years.
Levi’s is not the only clothing retailer in the region to reduce its staff recently. Gap let more than 800 people go in 2023, and Nordstrom fired 364 when it closed its doors last May, according to city data.
Other industries affected by workforce reductions include finance, professional services, and health care, among others. Tech layoffs top the charts, with thousands of lost jobs listed across dozens of companies, according to the city’s economic and workforce development department.
More than 10,200 permanent positions were lost across the city in 2023, according to the data.
Nationwide, similar patterns are evident, especially in the tech sector. In the last three months, Twitch announced a 35 percent reduction, Hasbro is cutting 20 percent, and Spotify is dropping 17 percent of its staff.
