Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Blue Apron expects to lay off 1,270 jobs as it closes its facility in Jersey City, New Jersey and opens a new one in Linden, New Jersey. In fact, all but 470 Jersey City employees have accepted positions at the new facility, according to a new statement from the company. The remaining 470 remain at risk of losing their jobs if they opt not to transfer as well.
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Blue Apron, the New York-based meal kit service, could lay off as many as 470 people as it closes its facility in Jersey City, New Jersey and transfers to a new one in Linden, New Jersey.
The news comes just weeks after the company’s lavish June 29 entry onto the publicly traded market proved underwhelming. News of the potential layoffs have seen the stock price tumble—even as it remains unclear just how many employees will opt not to transfer to the Linden facility.
“Our Linden location is a brand new, 495,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that we expect will enable us to execute on our product expansion strategy,” the company said in a statement. “All of our Jersey City employees (currently 1270) have been offered the opportunity to transfer to a same or comparable position in Linden, and the majority of those employees have already elected to transfer.”
The switch to a new facility comes just weeks after Amazon threw a wet blanket on Blue Apron’s public offering day parade by announcing about a week later that it was buying Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. That positions Amazon well for taking on the nascent meal kit industry.