Two more businesses in the outdoor and active lifestyle industries attribute recent job cuts to increased tariffs implemented this year.
- TravisMathew’s parent company, Topgolf Callaway Brands, based in Carlsbad, Calif., recently cut 300 jobs as part of its efforts to mitigate the impact of tariffs, according to its third quarter earnings conference call.
- Asheville, N.C.-based Astral Designs reduced its full-time workforce by 14%, has streamlined operations and will increase prices by 10% starting in 2026, according to an update from the company.
“In order to partially offset the import taxes that tariffs represent, brands and retailers are looking to cut expenses,” Matt Powell, senior advisor in the consumer sector at BCE Consulting, told SESO. “Layoffs are a quick way to reduce expenses, although not an efficient way to do so.”
Many businesses that announced layoffs earlier in the year, such as Nike, VF Corp. and Rip Curl, are working toward returning to growth after a few difficult years. Tariffs represent more challenges, with additional costs allocated to mitigating strategies such as reshoring manufacturing and sourcing.
TopGolf Callaway Estimates Tariffs to Tally $40 Million in 2025
Topgolf Callaway executives said the company recorded $12 million in incremental tariff expenses in Q3 and expects $40 million in tariff expenses for the full year.
“Given that the new tariffs were phased in during the year… the impact will unfortunately increase meaningfully going forward; assuming of course that the current rates hold,” Topgolf Callaway CEO Chip Brewer said during the call.
The company is trying to offset the impacts with “efficiency improvements,” which led to the job cuts, as well as pricing and vendor negotiations. As of now, Topgolf Callaway doesn’t plan additional layoffs, but “we are going to have to continue to be very attentive to overall cost management and margin initiatives,” Brewer said.
As of December 31, 2024, the company had approximately 30,000 full-time and part-time employees worldwide in 27 different countries, according to its 2024 annual report.
The headcount reduction comes as the company reported third-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA that topped its guidance, and the company raised its full-year outlook for 2025 as a result. The performance was driven by strong numbers in the Golf Equipment segment and positive same-venue sales growth at Topgolf.
Astral Designs Warns of Price Increases
Astral, which makes footwear, apparel, PFDs and other outdoor gear, previously made all of its products in China. Now, footwear is made in Indonesia, and PFDs are made in Cambodia, according to founder and CEO Philip Curry, who shared an update on Instagram.
“Despite those efforts, the new tariffs still add around 20% to our total product costs,” he said. “Because our net profit has averaged about 5% (for comparison, Nike runs around 15%), absorbing those costs completely would quickly put us in the red – and out of business.”
Because of that Astral has streamlined its operations and reduced full-time staff by 14%. Starting in January, prices will go up by an average of 10%.
“We’re letting you know early so you can pick up any gear you’ve been eyeing before the change – and before holiday inventory runs low,” Curry said.
Holiday Projections
Despite tariffs, the long government shutdown and signs of a softer labor market, the National Retail Federation (NRF) predicted that 2025 holiday spending from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 will increase by 3.7% to 4.2% over the same period in 2024, translating to total spending of between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion.
By comparison, last year’s holiday sales rose 4.3% over 2023 to reach $976.1 billion.
“I don’t think the retail business will achieve the rosy predictions for holiday as long as these import taxes are in force,” Powell said, adding that he expects to see more layoffs going into 2026.
Most of the consumption is coming from the top 20% earners of the economic population, he estimated. The other 80% are struggling, he said – with no signs of improvement.
“As long as the import taxes are in force, we’ll see higher prices, lower margins and weaker sales.” Powell said. “It will be a very bleak holiday for many brands and retailers.”
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