HSN to lay off 730 employees in light of St. Pete closure

St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network recently announced via a letter sent to the state that it would start layoffs of 730 employees beginning in May. 

A total of 900 employees will be impacted across several brands, including HSN, QVC U.S. and Global Shared Services, according to a statement from the company. 

The first wave of layoffs begins May 26 and will impact 145 employees over a two week period, according to the notice, filed with the Florida Department of Commerce Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification website. The notification, known as a WARN notice, comes on the heels of an announcement in January that parent company QVC will be closing the headquarters and re-structuring its operations in Pennsylvania. 

The next round of layoffs will be July 1. Further information on how many jobs would be impacted was not included in the notice. 

Not all employees will be impacted, with some corporate support staff remaining in remote positions. 

In an interview earlier this year with the Business Observer, longtime host Rhonda Shear said she would be remaining with HSN and flying to Pennsylvania as needed. 

"I am very saddened by the loss of talented personnel that have been with HSN for many years, but hopefully, Shear Media Studios will be able to bring some of this talent to work on the many projects—entertainment shows and streaming projects in the works," Shear says.

Home Shopping Network was founded in St. Pete in 1982 by Roy Speer and Lowell "Bud" Paxson. It began as a radio call-in shopping program in 1977 before moving to cable TV. 

The company was purchased in 2017 by Liberty Interactive Corporation, at the time the parent company of its competitor QVC. 

The restructuring of QVC follows a period of declining revenues and the risk of delisting in late 2024. In a statement from QVC group, the company says it will now focus on live shopping content across social platforms, with the goal of "creating the world’s leading live social shopping content engine."

This story was updated to reflect a quote from Rhonda Shear.