Luxury luggage brand Away ($PRIVATE:AWAYTRAVEL) — the company behind those heavily advertised suitcases with the built-in phone chargers — has furloughed about half of its 500-person staff and laid off an additional 60 corporate employees. With the travel industry in decline, the New York-based company has seen sales drop a staggering 90% over the last few weeks, according to the company’s founders.
“Today, the company’s salary costs alone exceed our revenues many times over,” founders Steph Korey and Jen Rubio wrote in a blog post. “What once seemed like a healthy cash balance is no longer enough to keep the lights on without dramatic action.”
Away’s job postings have plummeted 57% since March.
The brand’s struggles are reflected in its social media engagement. In just a month, Away’s Facebook mentions fell 91%.
Away is valued at $1.45 billion, having raised a total of $181 million in VC funding, backed by venture firms like Accel and Forerunner Ventures. As The Information reports, Away considered raising money to minimize layoffs but has yet to collect fresh capital.
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