Panera to lay off more than 300 corporate employees ahead of IPO

Panera reportedly is trimming its corporate headcount.

Its 1,800-person corporate workforce is becoming about 17% smaller as part of the move, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Based on those reported figures, around 300 will lose their jobs. 

The outlet attributed its information about the layoffs to internal communications it had seen.

The reported layoffs come about five months after Panera Brands revealed that it was gearing up for an "eventual" initial public offering and doing some leadership shuffling. Under that effort, Panera Brands tapped Einstein Bros. Bagels CEO Jose Alberto Duenas as the next CEO, and then-CEO Niren Chaudhary became chairman. 

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Corporate employees in support positions will be impacted by the reductions, according to The Journal.

"To best position the company for the future and continually improve our guest experience, Panera is taking steps to simplify our operations," a Panera Bread spokesperson told FOX Business. "To fully enable this simplified model, we have made some difficult decisions to better align our support structure with our strategy."

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The spokesperson also said the decision "was not made lightly" and that Panera was "committed to treating every associate with respect and compassion during this transition period."

The Journal reported that 2024 could be when the IPO will happen. Last year, Panera Brands, which JAB Holdings formed in 2021 to bring together Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels, pumped the brakes on a move to do so.

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This year, some major companies have gone public, including chip company Arm Holdings, food grocery delivery service Instacart and, most recently, sandal maker Birkenstock.