The parent of Jamba Juice plans to eliminate up to 23 positions — or 11 percent of its staff — at its Emeryville, Calif., support center as part of an ongoing plan to increase efficiency and reduce general and administrative costs.
The planned job cuts were announced internally by Jamba Inc. on Dec. 19 and disclosed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
Among the positions to be eliminated are three senior vice presidents, along with certain field employees responsible for operational supervision, recruiting, training, local marketing and real estate, the company said. The company expects to complete the workforce reduction by June 30, 2015.
Company officials did not respond by press time to requests for more detail on the positions to be cut.
The move comes as parent Jamba shifts to a more asset-light franchising model, but the smoothie chain operator is also under pressure from various investor groups looking for change.
Jamba has also been working with consulting group Capgemini since August to create workflow efficiencies and identify cost savings with the goal of reducing overall G&A expenses by 20 percent, or about $30 million.
The chain announced plans earlier this year to accelerate its refranchising program by selling 114 units in California to franchise operators during the first half of 2015. If all goes as planned, Jamba Juice will be 80-percent franchised by December 2015, and will add 500 franchised locations over the next five years.
In the filing Monday, Jamba said the planned layoffs will result in a charge during the fourth quarter of between $1 million to $1.7 million, of which up to $1.25 million is related to severance payments, and up to $450,000 will be tied to non-cash stock-based compensation changes.
For its Sept. 30-ended third quarter, Jamba reported a same-store sales increase of 3.8 percent, largely attributed to the rollout of its fresh-juice platform.
Jamba ended its third quarter with 807 units globally, including 72 company-owned and 535 franchised units in the U.S., and 55 franchised locations internationally.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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