Wolverine Worldwide to reduce workforce, divest Keds brand

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. has started a formal process to divest or licence the Keds brand and Wolverine Leathers business, both of which, the company said, are low-profit contributors.

In connection with these brand and organisational changes, the company initiated a workforce reduction earlier this week and expects theinitiative to result in approximately 30 million dollars in savings in 2023.

“We believe the recent changes to our group reporting structure and the announcement of strategic alternatives for Keds and Wolverine Leathers, as part of our regular assessment of the portfolio, will put the business on an accelerated path to improved profitability and restore Wolverine as a best-in-class brand house,” said Brendan Hoffman, Wolverine Worldwide’s president and CEO in a release.

“These decisions, particularly those related to our impacted team members, were not taken lightly. We greatly value the contributions of our talented colleagues and are committed to supporting impacted team members in their transitions,” added Hoffman.

Including the impact from the workforce reduction noted above, the company expects to realise total savings of approximately 45 million dollars in 2023 from organisational synergies and other indirect cost areas. In addition, the company plans to build on the supply chain cost initiatives started earlier this year and expects to realise approximately 20 million dollars of savings in 2023.