Wayfair to Slash 3% of its Workforce

Shares of online furniture retailer Wayfair was falling on Thursday after the company announced that it would be cutting 3% of its workforce.

The stock dropped 13% on the news as Wall Street reacted to the idea of about 500 jobs being cut.

The online furniture company has faced high costs to run its business. Since it was founded 18 years ago, Wayfair has never made a profit.

It has more than 17,000 employees globally, and those affected include about 350 people at corporate headquarters in Boston.

“We continually evaluate the needs of the business and work to increase efficiencies while aligning our teams with the initiatives that drive the greatest impact for our customers,” the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. “We remain as confident as ever in Wayfair’s future.”

Wayfair also runs other online stores under different names, including Perigold, AllModern and Birch Lane.

Wayfair shares are down a little more than 24% in the past 12 months.

The company is expected to report fourth quarter earnings on February 28th.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) and have not been compensated for this article.