Facing financial losses, the BYU Bookstore laid off 29 employees on Friday, said Carri Jenkins, a Brigham Young University spokeswoman.
"As with bookstores across the country, in recent years, the BYU Bookstore has been losing money, and that’s with the best and most creative efforts on the part of staff," Jenkins said. "But it is now clear, for the bookstore to be commercially viable and sustainable in the future, we had to make some significant changes, and that includes reducing our payroll costs."
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Jenkins noted that the campus bookstore is a self-sustaining business, meaning it does not get university funds or support from student tuition.
She said 25 of the employees who lost their jobs were full time and four were part time. All were in non-student positions.
"We recognize the excellent service these employees have given through the years and appreciate all that they have done for the bookstore and the university," bookstore Director Roger Reynolds said in a statement. "We made this very difficult decision because it was absolutely necessary for the survival of the bookstore. We believe, however, that these changes will allow us to remain relevant to the BYU campus."
Before the reduction in force, the bookstore had about 100 regularly scheduled non-student employees and around 200 student employees on average, Jenkins said.
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