Sports apparel company Fanatics, which was founded in the Jacksonville area, is closing its Riverview distribution center near Tampa next year and will lay off 286 employees.
The company announced the closure and job cuts in a letter sent to state and local officials Nov. 14 and posted to the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification database Nov. 17.
The letter was sent to meet federal WARN Act requirements.
Fanatics says the cuts will begin March 1 and continue until July 31, as of now the official closing date. Some operational changes will begin in January.
The Oak Creek Distribution Center is at 8221 Eagle Palm Drive in Riverview, between Tampa and Manatee County.
The closure comes about a year after Fanatics opened a new distribution center in nearby Tampa that it said is better equipped to handle current demand.
According to a statement from the company, the Riverview center was included in its acquisition of sports apparel manufacturer Majestic in 2017.
“As our business has grown and our operational needs have evolved,” the statement says, “the facility can no longer support the scale, technology and innovation required to meet our long-term goals.”
The company will offer severance to affected employees and hold job fairs in the coming months. Employees will also be able to apply to open positions at other Fanatics locations.
Fanatics said it employs about 850 in the Tampa area. According to its website, it employs more than 22,000 worldwide.
Fanatics has corporate offices at 8100 Nations Way in Jacksonville, which is listed on its website as its commerce headquarters.
The company has a corporate headquarters office in New York.