September 18, 2023
Layoffs Reported at WESCO Energy Solutions
Electrical Distribution giant reduces team from its 2019 $27.6M acquisition
Layoffs have reportedly occurred at electrical distribution heavyweight WESCO within its WESCO Energy Solutions group. This unit specializes in providing comprehensive turnkey services ranging from audit to installation, targeting large end-user lighting retrofit projects.
Insiders close to the matter have characterized the scale of these layoffs as substantial. Estimates from those close to the matter suggest that the layoffs have impacted dozens, possibly several dozens, of employees. It has been reported that many of the affected have served various iterations of the WESCO Energy Solutions business for periods exceeding 10 or 20 years. WESCO did not immediately respond to our multiple requests for specific details.
WESCO Energy Solutions’ history in the lighting services sector is extensive. The company's involvement started with Sylvania Lighting and expanded with the 2008 acquisition of Amtech Lighting Services. It later evolved into Sylvania Lighting Solutions (SLS) which WESCO acquired in 2019.
To provide further context, in March 2019, WESCO paid $27.6 million to acquire Sylvania Lighting Solutions (SLS) from OSRAM Sylvania. At the time of acquisition, SLS recorded annual sales nearing $100 million and had a workforce of around 220 employees scattered across the U.S. and Canada.
The focus of WESCO Energy Solutions has been on creating turnkey and retrofit solutions, aiming to reduce energy consumption and increase building efficiency. To showcase their recent activities WESCO published the following 2022 accomplishments of WESCO Energy Solutions:
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Completion of projects at 4,690 client sites
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Auditing of 76 million square feet of space
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Securing $4 million in rebates for their customers.
Despite these achievements, the recent layoffs cast a shadow of uncertainty over the future of the group. If WESCO provides us with more specifics on these WES matters or guidance on how customers may be affected, we will update this article.
A search of records with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, where WESCO Services, LLC headquarters resides, revealed no posted layoff notices as of September 18. In a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, notably the purchase of Anixter, WESCO's overall revenues have surged from $8.4 billion in 2019 to $21.4 billion in 2022.
