Blue Apron Laying Off Hundreds Of Employees In “Realignment” Effort

As e-commerce giant Amazon and major grocery chains across the country crowd into the meal kit service arena, it seems Blue Apron may be feeling the heat: The meal kit company announced Wednesday that it’s laying off 6% of its workforce as part of a companywide “realignment” effort.

Several hundred employees will be realigned right out of the company, Blue Apron announced in a companywide email that it included in a recent filing [PDF] with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company says the realignment comes down to a reduction of about 6% of the company’s total workforce of around 5,000, both at the corporate offices and fulfillment centers.

“A companywide realignment, like the one we announced, is always painful, and especially so for a close knit team like ours,” CEO Matthew Salzberg wrote in the letter, noting that company leadership and the board didn’t “take this decision lightly.”

READ MORE: 7 Things We Learned About The Rapid Expansion Of Meal Kit Service Blue Apron

“I want to assure you that we believe it was necessary as we focus the company on future growth and achieving profitability,” Salzberg adds.

Things started to turn a bit sour for Blue Apron after its disappointing IPO in June, with stock sinking 17% in the first week after the offering.

Things only got worse when Albertsons announced in September that it was buying Blue Apron’s rival, Plated.

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