Eddie Bauer to eliminate 193 positions

SEATTLE - Outdoor and lifestyle retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it is eliminating 193 jobs as it copes with the economic downturn.

The cuts will be made at its corporate headquarters in Seattle, its information technology center in Chicago, a distribution center in Columbus, Ohio, and a call center in Saint John, Canada. The company said the jobs represent roughly 15 percent of its non-retail staff.

Eddie Bauer has made several cost-cutting measures recently, including an announcement earlier this week that it is trimming the size and pay of its board of directors.

Neil Fiske, Eddie Bauer's president and chief executive, said the move is part of previously announced plans to cut $10 million to $15 million out of its 2009 operating costs, which follow a $45 million to $50 million cut in fiscal 2008.

Fiske said the company is "proactively managing its cost structure and expenditures in 2009 in the face of the continuing economic downturn."

The company's other cost-cutting measures include limiting capital spending, freezing salaries and adjusting some benefit programs. Fiske's salary was also cut by 10 percent for the remainder of 2009.

Shares of Eddie Bauer fell 4 cents, or more than 5 percent, in after-hours trading after finishing the regular session at 78 cents.

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