A month after its initial public offering, Blue Apron is losing more than a third of its workforce at a Jersey City, New Jersey, facility.
The meal-kit delivery company said it plans to close this location in October and has given all of its employees the option to transfer to the new facility located in Linden, New Jersey, about 15 miles from the old location.
Blue Apron said it expects about 470 workers will not be transferring to the new location.
Employees have until October to decide if they would like to transfer, so the number of lost jobs could become smaller, the company said.
“While the old and new facilities are only about 15 miles apart, many current employees may be hesitant to make the move due to extended commute times each day,” Erik Thoreson, principal at Technomic, told CNBC via email. “Additionally, the availability of public transportation is also an important consideration from a workforce standpoint. In a market where employees have fewer options, we would likely see more being willing to make the trek.”
In February, the company said it planned to bring more than 2,000 jobs to New Jersey with the construction of this new facility as well as hire between 400 to 500 people who reside within Linden.
Blue Apron shares have struggled since debuting on the New York Stock Exchange last month. The company, which had an IPO price of $10 per share, had seen its stock fall more than 35 percent, however, news of the job cuts sent shares lower. The stock was recently hovering below $6 a share, down 5.5 percent for the day.
Not to mention, the company said last week that its co-founder and chief operating officer, Matthew Wadiak, will transition to a senior advisory role.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of total job cuts.
Source: Tech CNBC
Blue Apron sees job cuts ahead of Jersey City facility closure