⁍ The company did not respond to a request for comment on how many employees were likely to be affected by the plan.

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⁍ Ralph Lauren said it would invest in digital platforms to support e-commerce operations.

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⁍ The luxury apparel maker said the layoffs are expected to result in gross annual pre-tax savings of about $180 million to $200 million.

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– Ralph Lauren is cutting its global workforce by the end of the company’s fiscal year, Reuters reports. The company did not respond to a request for comment on how many employees were likely to be affected by the plan. The COVID-19 health crisis has hammered demand for high-end handbags, apparel, and accessories in retail stores, forcing luxury goods companies to slash costs and slow brick-and-mortar expansion plans. However, their e-commerce sales have surged. Ralph Lauren said it would invest in digital platforms to support e-commerce operations, expand product personalization, and add new features like augmented reality. It will also move some human resource and planning systems to online cloud platforms. The company said the layoffs are expected to result in gross annual pre-tax savings of about $180 million to $200 million. It expects to incur one-time pre-tax charges of about $120 million to $160 million in fiscal 2021.