Dive Brief:
- Panera Bread said Tuesday that it eliminated an unspecified number of jobs and reassigned roles across its organization, according to an internal memo viewed by Restaurant Dive.
- Panera said the move is part of coporate’s ongoing plan to empower general managers, improve the chain’s operating model and improve guest experiences.
- A handful of LinkedIn posts on Tuesday confirmed layoffs of various employees at the St. Louis office, including positions in customer care, IT and project management. Other reports indicate the Newton, Massachusetts, support center was also impacted.
Dive Insight:
This is the second round of job cuts the company has undergone since November 2023, when 300 employees were laid off as the chain was preparing for a yet-to-transpire IPO. The previous job cuts impacted supporting staff roles.
There have been no updates on the company’s plans to go public, but Reuters reported in July that Panera Brands, Panera Bread’s parent, was considering a sale of Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros that could be worth over $1.5 billion.
The company has been seeing positive results from its menu transformation, which began in April, including improved retention and high guest satisfaction ratings, Panera said.
In April, Panera added or changed 20 menu items across its salad, sandwich and mac & cheese categories. Since then, it has updated its breakfast menu, added new pastries and sweets and added a handful of new sandwiches and cold drinks.
The cuts don’t impact workers at bakery-cafes or franchised locations. Impacted employees will receive severance pay and pay for accrued and unused PTO, as well as healthcare support and career services.
The chain also plans to close a dough facility in Norcross, Georgia, on Nov. 15 — impacting 86 employees, according to a WARN notice. Panera has been testing sending frozen, partially baked dough to stores rather than baking bread fresh in its bakery-cafes. The company has closed underperforming dough-making facilities this year, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
