Boise Co-op lays off 24 employees

The round of layoffs followed below-projection sales at the Boise Co-op’s second store at The Village at Meridian, a Co-op manager confirmed this week.

Eighteen employees at the Village store and six from the original North End store were laid off in early January, Co-op Marketing Manager Maureen Valko said.

The Meridian store opened Nov. 13.

“We based our initial sales projections upon extensive market research prior to opening at the Village,” Valko said in an email. “These projections proved to be above our performance, and we made staffing cuts to match sales.”

The layoffs represented about 9 percent of the Co-op’s workforce. Today, the Co-op employs 145 workers at its North End store and 87 at the Village, Valko said.

The decision to lay off workers was “a difficult one,” Valko said.

“Our long-term financial stability is important to us, and allows us to continue to provide our staff with competitive pay and a strong benefits package,” Valko said. “Unfortunately, this meant reducing staffing numbers.”

Sales at the Village store are improving, she said.

“Sales continue to grow each week, and we feel that the Village store is performing well, though sales are at the lower end of our projections,” Valko said.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Boise Co-op lays off 24 employees."