A video that purports to show the announcement of a major layoff at Victoria’s Secret is currently sparking debate on TikTok.
Posted by user Heather Saldivar (@heathersaldivar), the video shows a woman detailing that the customer service center will become outsourced over the course of the year.
This is explained in the video as “reducing overall operating costs,” “repositioning certain roles,” and “transitioning portions of our customer care services operation throughout 2023 to an experienced vendor partner of global operations.”
The speaker, who could not be identified, says that the “customer care team is being impacted by these changes.” Later in the video, she reveals that this means that many will be fired over the course of the year.
The video currently has over 21,000 views.
@heathersaldivar I apologize for the sound quality, but lets not be picky we got the meeting. I am posting to show what a terrible company Victoria’s Secret is. To not only fire your associates, but have the nerves to sit and talk about why this is a good thing for their business model….i promise you none of the hundreds of people being let go care about what’s saving you money @victoriassecret this is the driest meeting i have ever seen, especially while firing many that have worked there for YEARS. Absolutely disgusting. #victoriassecret #fired #masslayoff #greed ♬ original sound – Heather Saldivar
In the video, the speaker announces that customer service jobs will be outsourced to the countries of Belize and the Philippines.
“A third party [Business Process Outsourcing] partner…has been selected to support [customer care services],” the speaker says. “We will be leveraging their near-shore and off-shore locations. Belize City, Belize and Manila, Philippines are those two locations, and we will execute through a phased approach throughout 2023 and beyond.”
The stated reason for doing this is cost savings.
“This decision was made to lower the overall cost structure of [customer care services] and deliver efficiencies back to the [inaudible] business,” the speaker states.
Last year, Victoria’s Secret captured headlines after announcing it would be letting go of 5% of its corporate workforce. Then, earlier this year, CEO of the Victoria’s Secret and Pink brands Amy Hauk abruptly resigned after less than a year on the job. Her role was then taken over by Martin Waters, then CEO of Victoria’s Secret & Co.
While the reason for her resignation is unclear, CNN notes that “as Victoria’s Secret also [became] embroiled in turmoil over founder Leslie Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, its clothing went out of fashion among some longtime buyers.”
These issues came alongside dropping sales figures. The brand’s revenue dropped by 6% in 2022, with the brand announcing that it expected further losses in the first quarter of 2023 when compared to the previous year.
This is not to say that the business is unprofitable. Although net income has declined by 46% since 2021, the company still claimed a full-year net income of $348 million for 2022.
Additionally, the company’s 2022 annual proxy statement to the SEC reported executive compensation in the millions. CEO Martin Waters made $12.5 million in 2022. Chris Rupp, the company’s Chief Customer Officer, made $5.7 million.
The SEC report further notes that “the median annual total compensation of our associates, other than the CEO, was $13,365.” This means that the ratio of CEO pay to the median associate salary was 937 to 1.
In Saldivar’s TikTok video, the speaker notes that the timeline of the transition into outsourcing is “contingent upon our new partner performing to expectation.” That said, she goes on to lay out the company’s proposed timeline for outsourcing its customer service workers.
Live chat representatives have an “anticipated last day of July 22, 2023,” she says. Call center workers are expected to ‘transition’ out of their current roles by August 5, 2023. The speaker says that HR will be meeting with impacted members to discuss “separation packages.”
Saldivar, the woman who posted the video, shared her thoughts in the clip’s caption.
“I am posting to show what a terrible company Victoria’s Secret is,” she wrote. “To not only fire your associates, but have the nerves to sit and talk about why this is a good thing for their business model….i promise you none of the hundreds of people being let go care about what’s saving you money @victoriassecret.”
“This is the driest meeting i have ever seen, especially while firing many that have worked there for YEARS,” she continued. “Absolutely disgusting.”
Commenters were largely in agreement with Saldivar’s assessment.
“I’m done with VS, wrote one user. “Just cut up my card.”
“I have LOVED VS for a long time but recently the quality for the price has SUCKED!! But I can’t support a shit company that does this!” exclaimed another.
“Heavy heart??? BS,” stated a third. “They could care less.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Victoria’s Secret via email and Saldivar via Instagram direct message.
