In efforts to realign following tough economic times, Hallmark Cards is stopping production on its party ware products, and laying off 250 people The Kansas City Star reported Monday.
"We never approach decisions that impact people lightly or without thoughtful consideration, but business realities require us to become a smaller, leaner organization," Dave Hall, president of Hallmark North America told The Star. "These steps will help us focus on the strategies most critical for building a strong, healthy future for the company."
Hallmark will cut 125 to 150 jobs throughout the next 15 to 20 months, while 100 of the positions are expected to be slashed by the end of this year all coming from the company's product strategy, creative development, space and assortment planning, demand and inventory management, and project management The Star reported. Affected employees will either receive severance packages, or be re-located to other positions within the organization.
Other employees have also willingly announced their retirements, bought out the remaining time on their contract, shut down plants, send out work to external employees or merged businesses to further reduce its workforce.
The company has also elected to stop making its party ware products by 2014's conclusion.
"We've seen limited growth there, so it makes sense to focus on other areas where we have more sustained, profitable growth," Julie O'Dell Hallmark spokeswoman told The Star. "People will still be able to find those products at our other (corporate) customers like Wal-Mart and Walgreens. We are working with those customers to help find suppliers in an effort to minimize impact at the shelf level."
According to The Star, the company continues to thrive with its greeting cards, gift wraps, and ornaments business, and is dependent on revenue from Crayola, the Crown Media Hallmark Channel, and the Hallmark Movie Channel.
