Amway local layoffs continue, 50 more positions cut

Amway local layoffs continue, 50 more positions cut

ADA — Global direct-selling giant Amway Corp. is eliminating approximately 50 marketing and R&D positions in West Michigan in the final wave of local layoffs that began in 2018.

The two-year series of company-wide cuts took place during a “comprehensive review” of Amway’s global organizational structure, Amway spokesperson Anna Bryce told MiBiz. 

“These changes are not easy,” Bryce said. “While Amway will always continuously evaluate global operations to ensure investments and resources are aligned for growth, these changes conclude this particular global structure review.”

The company is offering exiting employees severance pay, continued health insurance, career transition services and counseling services, she added. 

In September 2019, MiBiz reported Amway eliminated 47 informational technology positions in Ada following 145 “back-office” cuts in April and 45 management-level cuts in December 2018. The company also closed two plants in West Michigan in 2018 as part of a restructuring of its manufacturing operations. 

Amway has eliminated a total of 210 local jobs in the past 10 months, according to a notice filed yesterday with the state of Michigan. 

The company plans to announce its 2019 sales revenues later this month. Annual sales rose 2 percent in 2018 to $8.8 billion, reversing a four-year slide.

The company plans to invest in new digital, data and analytics platforms that will train and support Amway’s millions of individual distributors, said Bryce.