QVC Studio Park in West Chester. (Credit: Matt Rourke, as seen on Forbes.com)
Just two months after closing the HSN campus in St. Petersburg, Fla., QVC announced on Friday it was laying off 900 employees as it transitions into a "live social shopping company."
The QVC Group, which is based in West Chester, reduced it's workforce by about 5% from it's approximately 17,000 employees with these layoffs, most of which are in Florida, but still impacted dozens of individuals based in Chester County.
"The elimination of positions is expected to occur in phases for a period of time to last approximately through the end of 2025," according to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice filed with Florida's Department of Commerce. "In the first phase of the closure, 145 employees, out of approximately 730 who will ultimately be impacted, at that location will be laid off on May 26, 2025, or during the 14-day period commencing on that date. Additional layoffs have been planned for July 1, 2025 and future dates in 2025. We will update you as dates are finalized."
QVC announced in January that it will transfer the HSN broadcasting operations to West Chester, but Friday's announcement indicates a consolidation of the once, powerful, television-shopping network.
In recent years, however, QVC and HSN have seen sales falter as online behemoths like Amazon have cut into the need to shop through the television.
QVC plans to pivot into Amazon's orbit, by offering the same kinds of products and deals on products through social channels, but with it's trademark live presentation.
"QVC Group is building a next-generation content engine in Studio Park that can quickly capture content to deploy on social, streaming and more for both HSN and QVC," the company said when it announced the closure of the Florida HSN studio.
HSN is scheduled to begin broadcasting from West Chester by mid-summer and the TV channels, web site and phone app will all remain operational.
