Mattel Closing New York Office

The toy industry has taken its fair share of hits in this year, and now Mattel is experiencing some shiftings as well.

Mattel announced that it will be closing the company's New York office, which is also part of a $650 million dollar cost savings plan (via Retail Dive). The closing of the office will be carried out in phases through 2018 and will affect around 100 employees.

The good news is that the New York location is not a strategic one for Mattel and still holds major offices in Los Angeles, East Aurora, Middleton, Wisconsin, and London. Most of or all in the best case scenario of the displaced employees will be relocated to those other offices according to company spokesman Alex Clark.

"Decisions like this are never easy, but we are committed to taking steps to ensure our real estate footprint is fully aligned with our efforts to ensure our operations are run as efficiently as possible," Clark said. "Importantly, this move enables us to simplify our organization, bringing teams closer together, encouraging more direct collaboration and facilitating faster decision making."

The cost savings plan was announced in October of last year and aims to relieve Mattel of $650 million in debt over the next two years. Current estimates say that one-third of that goal could be met by this year, helped by the closure of this office and Mattel's suspense of its quarterly dividend.

Mattel CEO Margo Georgiadis spoke of starting 2018 with a clean slate int eh previous announcement, saying "We have taken aggressive action to enter 2018 with a clean slate so that we can reset our economic model and rapidly improve profitability." On a recent company earnings call, Georgiadis added: "Our fourth-quarter performance reflects a tough quarter as part of what was a difficult and extraordinary year for Mattel."

Mattel and others in the toy industry have been dealing with the fallout from Toys "R" Us going into bankruptcy and eventually liquidation. For Mattel that meant losing its second-largest customer, as well as the retailer that carried most of its exclusives.