Victoria's Secret's parent company is laying off 850 employees

• L Brands, parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, is laying off about 850 people at its headquarters.
• The company is in the midst of separating its major brands into two standalone companies.
• "Decisions relating to our workforce are incredibly difficult and not taken lightly, but these actions are necessary to best position our company for the long-term," L Brands CEO Andrew Meslow said in a press release. "On behalf of the Board and management team, I'd like to extend our deepest appreciation to the impacted associates for their contributions and dedication over the years."

L Brands, parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, said Tuesday that it would cut about 15% of its workforce at its Columbus, Ohio, headquarters.

The layoffs will affect about 85o people, the company said.

"Decisions relating to our workforce are incredibly difficult and not taken lightly, but these actions are necessary to best position our company for the long-term," L Brands CEO Andrew Meslow said in a press release. "On behalf of the Board and management team, I'd like to extend our deepest appreciation to the impacted associates for their contributions and dedication over the years."

The layoffs are among a set of cost-cutting measures L Brands announced on Tuesday. The company said it is also working to better manage its inventory costs, changing its store management structure, and continuing to close 250 stores, a move that it announced in May.

L Brands is in the process of separating its major brands into two companies. Bath & Body Works will be its own public company while Victoria's Secret — including its lingerie, beauty, and PINK brands — will be a "separate, standalone" company.

L Brands was set to sell off a majority share in Victoria's Secret to Sycamore Partners this year in a deal that would take the company private. The deal fell through in April, however, when Sycamore filed a lawsuit arguing that L Brands' decisions to furlough employees and skip rent payments in response to the coronavirus pandemic constituted a breach of contract.

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