Quiksilver Inc. will lay off 168 more people at its Huntington Beach headquarters, according to a notice filed with the California Employment Development Department.

The restructuring will result in 150 actual layoffs and elimination of another 50 positions, said the company. Quiksilver estimated it would save $40 million annually by eliminating the jobs.

The announcement is just the latest round of layoffs at Quiksilver. Last year, the company cut 397 in Orange County alone, according to records filed with the state Employment Development Department.

Last month, Quiksilver surprised the action sports retail industry when it said it would not participate in this month’s annual Action Sports Retail show in San Diego.  In December, the company said it would close 25 of its surfwear stores.

Robert B. McKnight Jr., chief executive, noted the previous cuts last year, which reduced costs more than $35 million.  He said the spending cuts are across-the-board, but with an eye toward minimizing the impact on customers and other business partners.

“All levels of our organization are affected by these actions as nearly 20 percent of the employees involved in the reduction hold manager-level titles or higher,” said McKnight in a company statement. “Our management team has worked together on these cost reduction measures with the primary goal of becoming better positioned to weather the current environment and to meet our business objectives moving forward.”

download PDF of the press release

read more at the OC register

If you plan on doing more than just surf on international surfing day read on…

Come celebrate International Surfing Day this Saturday with the Quiksilver Foundation and the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Conservatory at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The event is free and open to the public.

Schedule:

• 7:00am – Beach Clean-Up Begins (south parking lot at Bolsa Chica State Beach)
• 9:00am – Open Surf Session
• 11:00am – Lunch with Taco Bell and Sambazon

The morning is set to kick-off at the south end of the park with a beach clean-up and an open surf session to follow. Surftech will be demoing their quiver of the latest surfboards and SUP boards. Entrance into the park is free for volunteers who show up between 7:00am and 9:00am.

Taco Bell will roll up in their new taco truck to hand out free lunch for the first 300 volunteers. Sambazon will also give away free smoothies. And as an extra special thank-you, Quiksilver will give away special event tee-shirts. Check-in at the Quiksilver tent to get a wristband for lunch, smoothies and tee-shirt.

(Honolulu, Hawaii) June 10, 2009 – The Quiksilver King of the Groms made its Hawaii stop this past weekend at Kewalos. With solid three-four foot surf on tap, the heats were packed with some of the Islands’ best under 16 surfers, all charging for the cash and a spot in the World Championships in France. In the end, Oahu’s Ezekiel Lau took the win with six skins (equal to $600 cash). Kauai’s Luke Hitchcock trailed just behind with four skins for second place and $400.

As the Hawaii champion, Ezekiel will travel to France this September to compete in the King of the Groms World Championships. Bringing together 16 Kings from around the world, including winner of the King of the Groms Santa Cruz Regional Qualifier Andrew Jacobson and the King of the Groms East Coast winner (still to be determined) the final showdown will be held in conjunction with the Quiksilver Pro France, a Men’s ASP World Tour contest.

The Quiksilver King of the Groms is the only “skins” format contest in North America. For more info on the King of the Groms, go to www.quiksilver.com/kog

About the King of the Groms Format:

The “Skins” format was founded by Quiksilver’s own Matt Kechele who introduced it to the East Coast back in 1995 at the Quiksilver King of the Peak at Sebastian Inlet which was won by non other than eight-time world champion Kelly Slater.  A “Skin” is equivalent to $100. In order to win a “Skin” the surfer must raise his hands above his head in what is termed a “claim” after what he or she thinks is a high scoring ride.  The judges then assess the wave and the score is announced and the surfer must exit the water.  The remaining surfers then have the duration of the heat to “claim” their wave and top the high score. Surfers get two chances to lose as there are two rounds of competition.  They also have the chance to go “on a roll” and claim multiple “Skins” if they are consistently putting up high scores as they progress in each heat.

About Quiksilver
Quiksilver is committed to providing tools for uncovering, expressing and expanding your personal style.  Our aim is to foster the sense of individual expression and excitement – the stoke that is the essence of boardriding*.  We’re also here to spread the word because the only thing better than finding stoke is sharing it.

*Boardriding is about timing and style.  It’s youthful, active, casual, and free flowing.  There is no wrong way to ride a board.  The goal is simply to learn, progress, improve, and give it your own interpretation.