Update: An astute reader (thanks Randy!) pointed out that I posted an older article (last years) about the Xango layoffs. The correct article about Xango's second round of layoffs is now posted below...
Supplements direct seller XanGo LLC laid off about 50 workers at its corporate headquarters in Lehi on Thursday, company officials confirmed.
Bob Freeze, vice president of public relations, in an e-mailed statement to the Daily Herald on Thursday, said the restructuring move affects less than 10 percent of its global work force of 570.
The company, which sells a mangosteen-based juice, now has 465 workers left in Utah. All affected workers are being offered severance packages.
According to the statement, Thursday's restructuring move ensures that XanGo is "properly structured for the future and during this time of global economic instability."
Thursday's round of layoffs at XanGo came even as the direct- selling industry nationwide appears to be reaping benefits amid the recession as more people, facing job insecurity and pay cuts, seek supplemental income through direct sales.
"We are reallocating resources to position ourselves for the future, recognizing the reality of the economy. While we cut some positions today, you can go to our Web site and see that we are still hiring a number of positions to focus our business on continued growth and profitability," Freeze said in e-mailed statements.
He said the company will be investing more resources in its marketing and distributor relations areas, while reducing less strategic investments and eliminating duplication.
"Much of this will be accomplished by not filling current vacancies and attrition. However, there will also be a net reduction of positions at our Lehi headquarters," Freeze said.
Last March, the company laid off an unspecified number of workers in what it called a move to "reallocate corporate resources to align with its continued global expansion."
But Freeze maintains the company had an overall "successful and profitable year" in 2008, despite deteriorating economic conditions during the fourth quarter.
"We have invested in a 30-acre international headquarters and three buildings at Thanksgiving Point and as mentioned before, we are expanding our operations to reflect where our growth continues to occur," he said.
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I'm afraid that Xango are just experiencing the more common effects of the incest that abounds in the internet based MLM industry.
A finite group of people who are traded like cattle from one company to another every 9 to 12 months.
They were once called junkies, but the infection has spread to people above that description.
Network Marketing has become obsessed with “timing”, “pre-launches”, and “the next big thing”, but the cause behind that obsession is what truly scares me.
Pandora’s Box has been opened and we will never be able to close it.
Kevin
When a company, any company, mlm or brick and mortar, have overhead costs that are too high, its the employees that get laid off. In mlm members can lose their membership. Read your policies and procedures to avoid this from happening to you!