The outdoors-wear company known for being eco-friendly above all else is falling out of favor with its employees. As Patagonia sales keep dropping, new changes are designed to bring the company back to profitability…
But workers believe these changes are pushing the company further away from its core beliefs…
Here’s what you need to know…
How Patagonia’s Falling Sales Changed The Company
For the past few years, Patagonia’s sales declined for the first time in company history.
The billion-dollar company, founded in 1973, creates highly coveted outdoor wear that is regularly worn in national parks and on Wall Street.
Alongside its product, the brand built a reputation as being extremely worker-friendly and sympathetic to environmental causes. Since its founding, it has donated over $226 million to causes that help the earth…
And it’s a certified B Corp.
DURING THE PANDEMIC, PATAGONIA SALES INCREASED 25%.
Demand skyrocketed as more customers were locked indoors and had cash to spend. But as the company gained a new customer base…
A LOT OF THEIR NEW AUDIENCE DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE COMPANY’S ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES, AND IT STARTED TO GET IN THE WAY.
More customers began to demand Amazon-like shipping times. Patagonia famously ships most of their orders by barge instead of planes, as a more environmentally friendly option.
To make the most of its sales, Patagonia started offering a faster shipping option that many workers were not happy with. But when Patagonia sales started dropping, the company made more changes to maximize profitability…
And more and more of its staffers started to believe that these changes went directly against the company’s ethos.
A current employee said this about the changes…
“WHAT WE DO TO MAKE THE CUSTOMER HAPPY AND TO SAVE OURSELVES FROM BACKLASH IS NOT ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE,”
A Changing Staff Force
Beyond just the changes happening to bring back Patagonia sales…
MORE INTERNAL CHANGES ARE TURNING THE COMPANY INTO AN UNFRIENDLY LANDSCAPE FOR ITS WORKERS.
Following the pandemic, the company introduced a career leveling plan to outline job functions and pay based on market standards…
But Patagonia had another problem to worry about… An excess of employees.
To get ahead of this issue and get back to boosting sales, Patagonia started issuing major job cuts and ultimatums for employees. One of these ultimatums gave workers 72 hours to decide whether they would quit their jobs or relocate to another country.
While most employees say that this company is still kinder to its workforce than other corporations…
They feel that Patagonia is not living up to its own expectations.
While Patagonia struggles to pick up sales…
If your own workforce doesn’t believe in the core message of the company, something is definitely wrong.
Be Great,
GCTV Staff
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