Lululemon cutting 150 corporate jobs as athleisure brand braces for tariff impact

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 12:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Vancouver-based apparel institution Lululemon Athletica Inc. is cutting astir 150 firm jobs arsenic portion of changes to its organizational structure, the retailer said Wednesday.

The affected employees are portion of its store enactment centres, a spokesperson for the institution told CBC News successful a statement.

"As we proceed to present connected our strategy, we regularly measure our concern operations to guarantee we are well-positioned for the future," the spokesperson said. "Following a caller review, we person decided to germinate immoderate aspects of our organizational operation to run with much agility and further put successful our growth."

The determination comes arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariff warfare ripples done proviso chains and dents bottom lines. Trump's tariffs person taken peculiar purpose astatine China — a cardinal marketplace for Lululemon — and respective Middle Eastern and Asian countries that are meccas for covering manufacturers.

The cuts look "aimed astatine streamlining costs and improving ratio — apt aided by productivity gains from [artificial intelligence] — amid increasing user uncertainty," wrote Bloomberg Intelligence retail analysts Poonam Goyal and Sydney Goodman.

"The determination whitethorn besides assistance sphere margins arsenic the institution navigates much cautious spending among shoppers," they wrote.

The analysts note this latest circular of layoffs follows others made successful 2024, erstwhile Lululemon closed a U.S. organisation centre, and successful 2023, erstwhile it discontinued its connected fittingness product, Mirror. 

Price increases coming

The institution is planning strategic terms increases arsenic it deals with U.S. tariffs, and volition walk immoderate of the costs on to its customers, it said successful its first-quarter fiscal results earlier this month.

The terms increases connected products are expected to beryllium humble and volition lone use to a fewer Lululemon products. However, they reflect the lengths the concern is having to spell to shield itself from Trump's commercialized warfare and the unit it's putting on  user spending, main fiscal serviceman Meghan Frank told analysts connected a June 5 call.

The retailer lowered its nett expectations for the afloat year, estimating a much pronounced interaction from expected tariffs.

The institution said diluted net per stock are present expected to beryllium betwixt $14.58 US and $14.78 US for the year, down from earlier guidance for a scope of $14.95 US to $15.15 US.

Lululemon shares have plunged astir 29 per cent since the institution reported its first-quarter earnings.

CEO Calvin McDonald said astatine the clip that portion Lululemon is amended positioned than most, the concern is already seeing little store traffic, peculiarly successful the U.S.