Ontario workers included in global Wayfair layoff

Wayfair says about 50 Canadians are part of a layoff impacting 1,650 employees at the furniture company.This April 17, 2018, file photo shows the Wayfair website on a computer in New York. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Jenny Kane)

TORONTO — Wayfair says about 50 Canadians are part of a layoff impacting 1,650 employees at the home goods company.

Spokesperson Susan Frechette says the 50 Canadians are all in Ontario.

They make up part of the 13 per cent reduction to Wayfair's global workforce, which also includes cutting 19 per cent of corporate staff.

Wayfair chief executive Niraj Shah says he's making the cut because the Boston-based company "went overboard" in hiring during a strong economic period.

He says Wayfair has since veered away from its core principles and now needs to eliminate excess and "get efficient."

Wayfair's layoff is expected to deliver annualized cost savings of more than $280 million and follows cuts at Google, Amazon and Duolingo.