L.L.Bean shared Thursday that it will be offering voluntary buyouts to eligible employees in 2018. The company is also discontinuing contributions to its pension plan and may alter its generous return policy.
The changes “are designed to ensure L.L.Bean continues to be a thriving outdoor company for the next hundred years and beyond,” company Executive Chairman Shawn Gorman said in a statement, according to Bangor Daily News.
The goal is to reduce its workforce by about 500 workers — about 10 percent — through early retirement incentives, according to the Associated Press. The news service also reported that the company is also considering its policy of offering free shipping on all items and a return policies that lets customers bring back any product with which they are unsatisfied, for store credit.
Despite discontinuing pension plan contributions, L.L.Bean “will enhance” its contributions to employees’ individual 401(k) plans, according to the statement. All contributions to pension plans earned before the 2018 changeover will remain.
L.L.Bean will offer a “voluntary early retirement program” to eligible employees in early 2018. The company also will expand its parental leave benefit, add an eldercare support benefit and offer more flexible time off, according to the statement.
“Our redesigned benefits program will continue to be one of the most generous in the retail industry, while providing both the company and our employees with greater flexibility,” L.L.Bean CEO Steve Smith said.
Image courtesy L.L.Bean
