Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Blue Apron (APRN) Shares Dip on Job Cuts, 'Company-Wide Realignment'

Read MoreHide Full Article

On Thursday, shares of meal-kit company Blue Apron are falling after the company announced it would be laying off 6% of its employees, or about 300 people. The stock is down about 1.3% to $5.24 per share in morning trading.

CEO Matt Salzberg described the decision as a “company-wide realignment” in an email to employees. According to CNBC, the layoffs affected salaried employees the most, and the company let go of a slew of workers within its marketing, software development, operations, and business development divisions at its New York headquarters.

“Our leadership and Board did not take this decision lightly, and I want to assure you that we believe it was necessary as we focus the company on future growth and achieving profitability,” wrote Salzberg.

“We have accomplished so much together over the past five years, and no words can adequately describe my appreciation for the work you do each day. I’m confident that the changes we made today will make our organization stronger and help us continue to improve the lives of our customers across the country,” he continued.

While job cuts are never the best news for a young company, it’s not entirely surprising for Blue Apron. The company has had a tough time ever since its IPO this past June--shares of APRN are down over 47%--an IPO that was completely overshadowed by Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) decision to purchase Whole Foods. That acquisition announcement caused even more intense investor caution and scrutiny, and Blue Apron ended up slashing its intended price range.

Even though Blue Apron is still the biggest and most well-known meal-kit company out there, the competition is more aggressive than ever. From Amazon and Kroger (KR - Free Report) jumping into the meal-kit and meal-prep game to rival HelloFresh planning to go public, it’s more important than ever that Blue Apron show investors and analysts that it can both retain customers and expand its base.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +18.8% from 2016 - Q1 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +157.0%, +128.0%, +97.8%, +94.7%, and +90.2% respectively.

And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation. See Them Free>>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) - free report >>

The Kroger Co. (KR) - free report >>