Some had been with the company since the 1980s, a source said.
QVC is laying off 220 people as it ships parts of its HR, IT, finance and legal departments to Krakow, Poland. Approximately 100 people at the company’s West Chester, Pa. campus are expected to lose their jobs. There are also 40 layoffs in the U.K., 70 in Germany and 10 in Italy.
QVC CFO Ted Jastrzebski broke the news to Pennsylvania workers on Wednesday, leading some long-time employees to get emotional, according to a source familiar with the situation. Some of the terminated employees had been with the company since its very first years in the late 1980s, the source said.
The layoffs are expected to begin no earlier than January 2017 and will be a gradual process.
A QVC representative said in a statement that the company is “always evaluating the structure and scale” of the organization and now plans to establish a “global business services organization” in Poland.
“The global business services model is part of QVC’s long-term strategy to continue modernizing how we operate as a global entity,” the statement said. “It will provide more efficient and streamlined business services in order for QVC to stay competitive and continue expanding globally.”
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