Mattel to lay off 120 workers in latest cost-cutting move

Mattel, the toymaker down Barbie and Hot Wheels, is laying disconnected 120 workers from its El Segundo headquarters, according to a announcement provided to authorities and section officials.

The artifact and amusement institution is cutting assorted roles including successful marketing, plan and accusation technology. Some of the employees held positions arsenic managers, directors oregon vice presidents astatine the company, the announcement states.

Employers are legally required to alert employees on with authorities and section officials astatine slightest 60 days earlier a wide layoff successful what’s known arsenic a WARN notice. Mattel submitted the announcement connected Monday and said it expects laid-off workers volition commencement leaving the institution connected May 19.

The occupation cuts are portion of a cost-cutting effort the institution started past twelvemonth focused connected increasing Mattel’s profits.

“They are intended to fortify our organizational operation to thrust our maturation objectives and optimize our operations,” Mattel spokesperson Catherine Frymark said successful a statement. The institution acceptable a people of $200 cardinal successful outgo savings by 2026.

Toy companies person besides been bracing for the imaginable interaction of President Trump’s tariffs connected imports from Canada, Mexico and China, a state wherever their products are made.

In February, Mattel’s Chief Financial Officer Anthony DiSilvestro told analysts during Mattel’s quarterly net the institution has diversified wherever it manufactures its toys.

Mattel expects China volition correspond little than 40% of planetary accumulation for Mattel’s toys successful 2025, helium said, which is little than the manufacture mean of astir 80%.

The institution could besides mitigate the imaginable interaction of tariffs by expanding prices and leveraging its proviso chain.

“Without getting into excessively galore details for competitory reasons, we person flexibility successful presumption of sourcing, successful presumption of destination, successful presumption of proviso chain. We besides are looking astatine imaginable pricing actions to mitigate the interaction of tariffs,” DiSilvestro said astatine the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference earlier successful March.

Mattel doesn’t expect immoderate azygous state to correspond much than 25% of its planetary accumulation by 2027.

Toy companies struggled aft the closure of Toys R Us successful 2018 and amid inflation. Mattel laid disconnected workers successful 2023, citing economical challenges.

But planetary artifact income stabilized past twelvemonth successful portion due to the fact that a increasing fig of adults are buying toys for themselves, according to marketplace probe steadfast Circana. This year, Mattel won backmost rights to make enactment figures and different toys based connected DC characters specified arsenic Batman and Superman successful the 2nd fractional of 2026.

Mattel’s nett income were $5.4 cardinal successful 2024, a 1% driblet compared with the aforesaid play the twelvemonth before. The company’s nett income reached $542 million, up from $214 cardinal successful 2023.

The institution expects nett income volition summation by astatine slightest 2% this twelvemonth driven partially by income of Hot Wheels, UNO and products tied to the merchandise of caller movies specified arsenic Disney’s “Snow White” and the sequel to “Wicked.”