Powell’s Books Lays Off 31 Employees

Powell’s Books has laid off 31 employees. The employees worked in four different locations at Portland, Oregon-based bookseller.

According to Portland Mercury Blogtown, no managers were targeted for layoffs. The company will institute a pay freeze in July and stop making 401(k)s contributions on February 21st. Both of these conditions will be in effect for a minimum of one year.

Powell’s Books president Emily Powell had this statement, in the release:  “I feel it is critical to make some very difficult adjustments at this time, to address our current reality and to prepare the company for success in the future, a future that looks very different than our business today.”

According to the release, Powell’s Books saw sales decrease last year, and the cuts will help cope with a new marketplace: “We see this as a clear indication that we are losing sales to electronic books and reading devices,” the company explained in the release.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated for clarity.

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