Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group plans to lay off up to 15% of its general and administrative workforce in a cost-cutting move, the company announced Thursday.
The 12% to 15% reduction in force will “impact all levels of the organization” at the Irving, Texas-based company’s restaurant support center, along with field staff at three out of four of the company’s restaurant brands and contract support.
“A reduction in force is a difficult but necessary step and we are committed to treating impacted employees with respect and support through this period of change,” said Del Frisco’s CEO Norman Abdallah in a statement.
The layoffs are expected to cut administrative costs in 2019 by $3 million while saving $5 million on an annualized run-rate basis, the company said.
Del Frisco’s has completed six of eight planned restaurant openings for the first half of the year and said it has no plans to change its long-term growth target of 10% to 12% new restaurant openings each year.
The company, which operates Double Eagle, Del Frisco’s Grille, Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco, remains under a strategic review process it began late last year, with an eye toward a possible sale.
A year ago, Del Frisco’s purchased Barteca Restaurant Group, the parent company of Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco, for $325 million. Since then, company officials have worked to reduce redundancies within the two organizations.
The company, which operates 78 restaurants in 17 states and Washington, D.C., has struggled with sales and traffic. Earlier this month, Del Frisco’s reported chainwide same-store sales growth of 1.3% for the quarter ended March 26, falling short of analyst estimates.
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