Added Dec. 8, 1999
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Hasbro Inc., maker of Furby, Star Wars and Pokemon toys, along with several lines of board games (Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers and Avalon Hill), announced Tuesday that it would slash 2,200 jobs in a sweeping restructuring to take advantage of growing demand for electronic toys.
The No. 2 U.S. toy maker also said it would de-emphasize certain areas of its U.S. business, primarily in preschool, creative play and girls' toys, focusing instead on proven brands and licenses such as Play-Doh, Teletubbies, and Barney the dinosaur.
According to Mark Foster, senior brand manager for Avalon Hill, the announced cutbacks will have absolutely no effect on the company's line of board games.
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That's great news for board gamers looking forward to playing the new releases from Avalon Hill: Stratego Legends, Acquire and Diplomacy (all shipping in December) and Axis and Allies Europe and Battlecry (shipping early 2000). For more information on the upcoming Avalon Hill games, check out this feature: http://boardgames.about.com/library/weekly/aa110599.htm.
This is the second restructuring in two years at Hasbro. In December 1997, the company announced 2,500 job cuts.
Hasbro said its latest steps would include reducing its work force by 19 percent and consolidating manufacturing, product lines and sourcing activities. It said it would close manufacturing plants in Tijuana, Mexico, and Ashford, England, accounting for 1,850 of the job cuts. Production from those facilities will be moved to other Hasbro plants and to Asia.
Hasbro Chairman and Chief Executive Alan Hassenfeld said in a statement, "As we transition Hasbro from a toy and game manufacturer to being a leader in children's and family leisure time and entertainment, we must realign our business to support our commitment to technology and game play."
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