RI is closing its Experiences business, which includes adventure travel, day trips, classes and other events.
As a result, the Seattle-based outdoor gear retailer will lay off 428 employees — 180 full-time and 248 part-time — who had helped run REI’s Experiences business, which offered indoor and outdoor classes air, technical training and excursions.
REI CEO and President Eric Artz informed all employees of the decision in a message Wednesday.
“After careful consideration and careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to exit the Experiences business completely, effective this week,” he said in the note posted online.
Experiences employees “did what was asked of you, worked extremely hard, trained brilliantly and created wonderful experiences for almost a million people over the years,” Artz said in the note.
The division served 40,000 customers in 2024, less than 0.4% of all REI Co-op customers, “and costs a lot more to operate than it makes,” Artz said.
“When we look at the overall costs of running this business, including costs like marketing and technology, we are losing millions of dollars every year and subsidizing Experiences with profits from other parts of the business,” he said. he declared in the note. “We held out as long as possible, but the fact remains that Experiments are an unprofitable business for the cooperative and we need to adjust course.”
What happens to REI Experiences employees who are laid off?
All affected employees will receive a bonus for 2024, based on their performance, and will be eligible for other (and future) REI employment, Artz said in the post. He added these details for different levels of employees:
- Full-time employees: Those whose jobs were eliminated will continue to receive their regular salary until March 9, 2025, and receive benefits until the end of March. “They will also be eligible to receive separation benefits, including severance pay, continued health coverage through COBRA, and outplacement assistance,” the letter states.
- Shared employees: Those who split their time between experiments and stores were required to meet with store managers to discuss options for continued employment.
- Part-time employees: Enjoy benefits through January 2025 and will also be eligible for severance pay.
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