Bass Pro lays off over 24 people in Springfield

Bass Pro Shops late last week laid off over 24 people at its Springfield headquarters and its Nixa fabrication shop.

Spokesman Jack Wlezien said via email the cuts included 24 salaried positions and a “handful of hourly positions.”

Wlezien said many of the positions are in departments that fluctuate in size depending on construction projects and the support of new stores.

“These teams are scaling down following a period of historic expansion with eight new stores in 2015, including the successful completion of Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid in Memphis following years of development,” he said. “We value the contributions of our associates and consider even a small reduction in positions to be a serious matter.

“All appropriate steps were taken to ensure that these employment actions were implemented in the fairest manner possible.”

The layoffs did not affect its stores, Wlezien said.

Bass Pro, which last week opened its 97th store in San Jose, Calif., employs over 22,000 in North America. Wlezien said the company employs around 6,000 in the Ozarks, with 2,300 new positions created in the past three years.

In July, the company announced plans to lay off up to 500 employees nationwide, including fewer than 60 locally.