Sweetgreen Layoffs: Cutting Support Staff, Ripple Fries

Sweetgreen, the favored eatery recognized for its $16 salads, is streamlining its employees and its menu after reporting disappointing earnings this week.

Based on Restaurant Business, Sweetgreen has made job cuts equating to 10% of open and current positions on its California-based help workforce. Sweetgreen employed over 6,400 employees as of the top of final yr.

In the meantime, the chain may even discontinue its $4.95 Ripple Fries, marketed as a healthier alternative to French fries, a mere 5 months after introducing the choice.

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Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman mentioned on a Thursday earnings call with analysts that whereas shoppers “cherished” the air-fried ripple fries and had a “nice response” to the product, it was a “distraction” to workers and added further cooking complexity to their day.

Sweetgreen has already examined eradicating the fries from its menu in sure shops, and seen “big enhancements in buyer satisfaction” as workers concentrate on the salad chain’s core merchandise, Neman mentioned on the decision. Sweetgreen will discontinue the merchandise subsequent week, he added.

Sweetgreen made these modifications to its employees and menu after posting disappointing quarterly earnings. On Thursday, Sweetgreen introduced its second-quarter results, noting that same-store gross sales fell by 7.6%. The chain reported a internet lack of $23.2 million, up from $14.5 million in the identical interval final yr. Whole income elevated by simply 0.5% year-over-year to $185.6 million.

What’s Sweetgreen’s turnaround plan?

Although Sweetgreen might have reported poor monetary outcomes this week, the salad chain has a turnaround plan in place that features providing bigger sizes of proteins, bettering the style of its hen and salmon, and providing reductions on salads ($13 as an alternative of $15) for members.

Mitch Reback, Sweetgreen’s chief monetary officer, mentioned on the earnings name that the corporate was additionally bringing again seasonal choices and chef collaborations, in addition to presenting new choices at “extra reasonable worth factors.”

“Whereas we’re not but the place we need to be, we’re assured that these actions place Sweetgreen to emerge stronger, extra centered, and higher aligned with what our company and traders anticipate from us,” Reback mentioned on the decision.

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Based on Reback, the modifications have already taken impact and have helped gross sales within the present quarter.

Sweetgreen’s inventory was down over 70% year-to-date on the time of writing. The corporate’s market worth was a little bit over $1 billion.

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