from Hacker News

Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

by DDSDev on 12/12/23, 8:37 PM with 158 comments

  • by oflannabhra on 12/12/23, 9:16 PM

    Hasbro is essentially upside down, with huge losses across all their brands being subsidized by enormous growth from their subsidiary Wizards of the Coast. Even with that growth, they are significantly down.

    There was a big investor push recently (led by Alta Fox) to get Hasbro to spin WotC out into an independent company [0], which failed. The big concern being that forcing growth on those properties (Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons) to continue to support failed strategies with legacy properties could risk ruining those properties through mismanagement for short-term gains.

    I really don't know where Hasbro goes from here. I don't think the toy market will ever recover, and the board game world has completely passed by properties like Monopoly. Chris Cocks, the CEO is the former head of WotC, so I'm hoping there is some level of understanding of stewardship of the WotC properties, but I'm really not confident. Even the recent D&D movie was disappointing from a business perspective (although surprisingly wonderful for fans). They also have a huge success in Baldur's Gate 3, although it is also disappointing from a monetization perspective. Even those recent lukewarm wins are within the WotC umbrella.

    [0] - https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/hasbro-wins-wizards-of-the-coas...

  • by roughly on 12/12/23, 9:34 PM

    Laying off the workers at the toy factory two weeks before Christmas is the thing the villain in an 80s kids movie would do.

    I don't mean that to be hyperbolic - like, literally, that's the sort of thing that was culturally cast as villainous behavior a generation or two ago.

  • by mikeortman on 12/12/23, 9:07 PM

    I have a hunch a lot of companies that layoff in December are also motivated by the bonus structure. Many companies structure their bonus pay around the new year in line with their fiscal calendar, either paying at the beginning of the year or entitling them to the bonus paid out later in the year.

  • by sircastor on 12/12/23, 10:07 PM

    The older I get the more I hate publicly traded stock. Early on it seems like it had a positive advantage for companies, but here in the fully matured market we find that it just screws up all the incentives. Every company imaginable stops being what they are: A computer company, a cookie company, a toy company, an internet provider, a movie studio, etc. They all just turn into a single, stupid thing: A stockholder appeasement company.

    Their singular goal becomes making stockholders (more accurately market analysts) look favorably at them. I hate it so much.

  • by lancesells on 12/12/23, 9:30 PM

  • by josefritz on 12/12/23, 9:03 PM

    My former employer does a layoff pretty reliably in early December every year. The optics are always poor even if their rationale is sound.

  • by irrational on 12/12/23, 9:32 PM

    Is there a worse time of year to do layoffs than just before the holidays? Do they do it because their fiscal calendar is aligned to the … whatever you call the normal calendar? My company has its fiscal calendar about 5 months off from the normal calendar and while we have had layoffs, they have never happened at the holiday time.

  • by guyzero on 12/12/23, 9:49 PM

    The price of toys has fallen drastically since 2000.

    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SERE01

    That's got to come straight out of Hasbro's bottom line.

  • by neilv on 12/12/23, 10:21 PM

    I wouldn't feel good about giving money to Hasbro right now.

    With young kids' toys given as gifts, you're a little stuck, if they really want, say, specific Transformers.

    But for entertainment that teens and adults buy for ourselves, there's more choice...

    I can see how MtG lifestyle players who use genuine cards might be locked into continuing to give money to a Hasbro brand.

    But maybe not for some of the other brands. For example, (speaking as a former DM who wrote some modules), do D&D players really need much more than d20 dice, graph paper, and an imagination?

  • by maximilianroos on 12/12/23, 9:06 PM

    Getting laid off in December is tough. But it's better than getting laid off in January after coming back to work from holidays, with plans for the year ahead. At least this way, folks can recuperate with their family, and then hit the job market in January.

    Or do others disagree?

  • by FredPret on 12/12/23, 9:53 PM

    These guys are in a pickle.

    Wild revenue swings, declining profit, high leverage of 70% (although that's in line with competitors Funko and Jakks who are at 62% and 73%). And through it all, they're paying a 5.7% dividend yield. They simply don't have the business to support that. [https://valustox.com/HAS, https://valustox.com/FNKO, https://valustox.com/JAKK]

    Even Mattel is barely breaking even on a wild upward swing in revenue [https://valustox.com/MAT]

  • by no_wizard on 12/12/23, 8:57 PM

    My heart goes out to those affected. Thats very rough.

    I know this isn't directly related to the article at hand or anything either, but I feel like I'm seeing a real uptick in November / December layoffs. Is it just me or was it really not a thing companies did with such frequency around the holidays?

    I feel like its as much a shedding of costs as it is a flex of big business trying to show strength because they all hate any inch of worker gains in the past 3 years that were made.

    In other news: It appears that Hasbro is shifting to become a trading card and video game company, per the article:

    >Meanwhile, Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, which publishes both Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, is experiencing all-time highs for both revenue earned and the number of players engaged in those brands

    >One area of investment for Hasbro appears to be the video game sector. Its latest project, Exodus, made a big splash last week at The Game Awards.

    Seems like they're trying to gear up those divisions while winding down their toy division at least somewhat. Its unclear if their stragetic growth with WOTC will also include investments in table top games there or if they will be primarily focused on the core money makers around Magic: The Gathering.

    If they can hit big in video games that will certainly bolster revenue though. We shall see if Hasbro is about to be an unexpected giant entrant into that industry

  • by jackcosgrove on 12/12/23, 10:34 PM

    Why is the toy market struggling? Is children's amusement all digital now? Are there fewer children?

    I don't know why, but when toy companies and retailers fail (FAO Schwartz, Kaybee, Toys 'R Us) I always feel sad.

  • by TheGRS on 12/12/23, 9:35 PM

    I feel like a lot of attention from this is on the WotC side, which is doing very well, bully for them, I consume a lot of the D&D product line. But what's up with the rest of the company doing poorly? They have a huge trove of great IP that's failing. Play-doh and Nerf seem like they're still children's play staples no? Is there a big shift in consumption of action figures I should know about? Or is the story more about issues with inflation/affordability for these types of toys?

  • by bingemaker on 12/12/23, 9:58 PM

    I never understood these layoffs. Don't the management team see it coming and plan it? Seems like a knee jerk reaction which affects people. Sad to see them ruining Christmas

    Downvote mfs.

  • by corethree on 12/12/23, 9:47 PM

    They got lucky with D&D. The ruled gameplay isn't even that good/original with D&D when compared to other RPG mechanics from other systems... it's mostly the lore that enabled WoTC to sell rights to the IP to get us Baldurs gate, torment etc.

    With magic it's just an addictive game and the "lore" though slim makes it feel adultish.

  • by ChrisArchitect on 12/12/23, 9:29 PM

    Guess nobody's getting beat up/waylaid in the parking lot for Cabbage Patch Dolls or Furbies this year

  • by billtsedong on 12/12/23, 10:43 PM

    Then I'll pay only for 2/3 of their products I guess

  • by Eumenes on 12/12/23, 9:53 PM

    i'd like to see toy companies go out of business. esp ones that create unsustainable plastic crap made in china. support local artisans.