REI Axes Travel Business

428 employees will lose their jobs in this cut to a side of the business that hadn’t been making money in awhile.

From the letter by CEO Eric Artz part of the official press release:

Second, it is important we all understand the economics of the Experiences business. Experiences served 40,000 customers in 2024—less than 0.4% of all co-op customers—and costs significantly more to run than it brings in. When we look at the all-up costs of running this business, including costs like marketing and technology, we are losing millions of dollars every year and subsidizing Experiences with profits from other parts of the business. Even at our peak in 2019—our best year for Experiences ever—we did not generate a profit.

Less than a year ago REI bought land for a “clamping experience” near the Grand Canyon.

And the folks working in that division were laid off, but not the leadership who let this side of the business lose money for that many years?