Venus Fashion Inc. said Sept. 4 it is laying off 120 workers at its Northside Jacksonville fulfillment center as part of a plan to open a second distribution center on the West Coast.
Venus said in a news release it will continue to operate its Jacksonville center at 1 Imeson Park Blvd. but with the opening of a second facility, it expects a smaller business volume to run through the Jacksonville center, so it is laying off some employees.
The swimwear and woman’s apparel company is headquartered at 11711 Marco Beach Drive in the EastPark business park on Jacksonville’s Southside.
Venus sent a letter to state officials Aug. 10 under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act saying it would lay off 120 people no earlier than Oct. 10.
In its news release, Venus said workers will receive a 30-day notice once the layoff date is determined. Affected workers will be offered severance and an opportunity to apply for other positions with the company.
The company said Sept. 8 it will have 50 employees at the Northside distribution center and about 550 in Florida after the layoff. Of those, all but 33 are in Jacksonville.
Venus said it is working with a partner to open the second distribution center on the West Coast. It expects the additional facility to improve customer service and improve the efficiency of its supply chain.
Venus, founded in 1984, has annual sales of about $300 million. It is a subsidiary of the Otto Group, a Germany-based company that acquired Venus in 2009.