Levi Strauss to lay off 10% to 15% of corporate workforce, stock slides as profit forecast disappoints

Jeans-maker Levi Strauss & Co.
LEVI,
+0.19%
on Thursday said it plans to lay off between 10% and 15% of its global corporate staff in the first half of this year, part of a new multi-year plan to save money and speed its shift to direct-to-consumer sales. The company said that initiative would save $100 million in costs in its ficsal 2024, which ends in November. Still, shares slid 3% after hours, after management forecast full-year adjusted per-share profit of $1.15 to $1.25, below FactSet forecasts for $1.33. Levi’s said it expected full-year sales growth of 1% to 3%. For the fourth quarter, the company reported sales of $1.6 billion, up 3% year over year. Levi’s reported adjusted earnings per share of 44 cents. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Levi’s to report adjusted earnings per share of 43 cents, on revenue of $1.66 billion.