Portland-based Wex Inc., which employs 6,100 people worldwide, said Friday it is laying off 150 workers. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Wex Inc., the Portland-based payment technology company, said Friday it is laying off 150 employees, including 30 in Maine, as part of a reorganization intended to position the company for future growth.
Details about jobs being eliminated were not made available Friday and the company did not elaborate on where it expects future growth to come from. The cuts were made at the 33 Wex locations worldwide, a spokeswoman told the Press Herald, adding that the company has already notified the affected workers.
The exact dates of their termination are being worked out. The workers will receive severance pay, outplacement assistance and other benefits as part of the transition, according to Wex.
“To best position WEX for its next phase of growth, we are reorganizing certain roles and responsibilities to enable WEX to best serve customers, support employees, accelerate the pace of innovation, and continue to win in the market,” said Jessica Roy, Wex vice president for external communications. “We are committed to helping our people transition smoothly to their new roles, responsibilities and, in some cases, opportunities.”
The layoffs are not because of business performance or economic conditions, according to the company, although Roy declined to be more specific about the reasons for the cuts.
She noted that Wex has already hired more than 1,500 people this year, including 150 in Maine. Around 300 positions worldwide, including 85 in Maine, are open and the company expects to fill them.
Wex has also filled four top executive positions in the past year, she said. The changes are part of a focus on increasing customer service, supporting Wex employees and accelerating innovation, according to Roy.
Shares of Wex (NYSE: WEX) closed down Friday, off $2.39 or 1.72%, at $136.52. The stock is trading toward the lower end of its 52-week range of $123.01 to $197.70.
Wex was founded in 1983 in South Portland as Wright Express Corp., a provider of automated fuel payment systems for trucking and other transportation businesses. Today, the company employs 6,100 people worldwide. It’s scheduled to release third-quarter financial results on Oct. 25.
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