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Patagonia has asked its 90 remote workers to choose between relocating closer to one of the outdoor clothing company’s seven locations or quitting the company.
Business Insider It was reported earlier this week The company’s 90 customer service employees were asked to pack their bags and find new housing within 60 miles of Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Reno or Salt Lake City.
Patagonia had asked all those employees for their decisions by Friday, three days after it announced it was moving its customer service teams fully to a “hub” model.
A Patagonia sticker on the door of a store on Greene Street in New York City on September 14, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The California-based outdoor clothing retailer has been testing “hubs” in those seven cities over the past year, Patagonia spokesperson JJ Huggins told Fox Business.
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He said the 250-person customer experience team began working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic and is Patagonia’s only fully virtual team.
Huggins said “most” of the team members already live near Reno.
A Patagonia spokesman said the company would work with employees, who said they needed more time to decide about the relocation.
A sign hangs at the entrance of a Patagonia outdoor clothing store in Vail, Colorado on June 9, 2017. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images/Getty Images)
As Business Insider reports, the deadline for those who agree to relocate is September 30. Patagonia will offer $4,000 in stipends to those who relocate.
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Huggins said the “hub” is part of Patagonia’s efforts to revitalize its company culture after the major disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the “hubs” will help Patagonia improve its services, and that the teams will be better integrated into Patagonia’s culture and programs because they will be staffed by the company’s retail and other employees.
Huggins said the company doesn’t yet know how many of its 90 employees will be transferred or leave because the situation is “still fluid,” but he said “some” have agreed to move “immediately” and others have indicated they will not be relocating immediately.
Tourists enter a Patagonia outdoor clothing store in Vail, Colorado, on June 9, 2017. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Business Insider reported that one employee who refused to relocate described the severance package as generous, and Huggins said it included wages, bonuses, health insurance, skills allowances and career support.
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The customer service team makes up about 8% of Patagonia’s roughly 3,000 employees worldwide, and the department has been overstaffed for some time, Business Insider reported.
The outdoor clothing company has offices in multiple countries around the world and operates more than 70 retail stores, according to its website.
