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Lululemon Cuts 128 Jobs With Washington Distribution Center Closure
https://www.whatjobs.com/news/usa/us-employment-news/lululemon-cuts-128-jobs-with-washington-distribution-center-closure
By Nithya Bose in Business News, posted April 22, 2024
Lululemon Athletica has announced the closure of its distribution center in Sumner, Washington, resulting in 128 job cuts.
The decision follows the company’s recent expansion in warehouse capacity.
This includes the opening of a new large-scale facility outside of Los Angeles.
The athletic clothing giant submitted a WARN notice to Washington's Employment Security Department detailing the closure and layoffs, which are slated to start on June 21.
The facility is expected to close completely by year-end.
A Lululemon spokesperson said: “As we continue to deliver on our growth strategy to meet the needs of our guests, we regularly evaluate our distribution network to help shape and support the future vision of our business.
“Following a review of our current infrastructure and the evolution of our fulfillment strategy, which includes a multi-year investment to increase overall capacity and support our growth, we have made the decision to close one of our smaller distribution centers — located in Sumner, WA.
“While some employees will be retained and will relocate to other facilities, including our recently opened distribution center in the greater Los Angeles area, the optimization will result in the reduction of just over 100 positions within the existing Sumner distribution center.
“We are committed to supporting our impacted employees through this transition.”
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Lululemon has operated the Sumner location since 2010.
It is one of the first major US distribution centers established by the company after its 2007 IPO.
Employees can move to other locations
Lululemon aims to transition some affected employees to other locations, including the newly launched site near Los Angeles.
Lululemon expanded its distribution footprint from 1.12 million square feet in early 2021 to nearly 4 million square feet today.
The expansion includes two major leases for facilities near Los Angeles and Toronto.
The former is already operational and the latter scheduled to open in 2026.
Lululemon has faced challenges maintaining its growth momentum in North America, its largest market.
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