Top 40 distributor Custom Ink (asi/173232) is laying off nearly 500 employees as it reportedly ends in-house decoration/production.

Earlier this month, the Fairfax, VA-based company informed 490 employees at locations around the United States that their jobs were being eliminated. It was the most recent round of layoffs from promo’s fourth-largest distributor by revenue, which cut 338 jobs in Virginia and Nevada earlier this year as it shuttered production facilities in those states.

The December round of job slashing included the closure of a production facility in the Dallas, TX, area, a move that will result in the loss of between about 240 and 285 jobs, according to tallies from different sources. The plant is slated to close its doors a final time by the end of March 2024.

Custom Ink had previously said the facility shutdowns in Reno and Charlottesville were to consolidate operations in the Dallas area location. The latest word is that shutdowns of the production facilities are part of a strategic initiative by Custom Ink to end in-house decoration/production of branded products, Washington Business Journal reported. 

“To improve performance and better align the business with its tech-oriented growth strategy, Custom Ink is planning to close its Dallas In-House Production facility by the end of the first quarter of 2024 and return to a production model utilizing a network of partners,” Custom Ink said in a statement reported by The Dallas Morning News.

Affected Workers Speak Out

Still, it wasn’t just production workers impacted by Custom Ink’s latest cuts: Salespeople, managers and administrators were losing their jobs on the eve of the new year, too. Some “Inkers,” as employees sometimes refer to themselves, took to social media to express sentiments about the layoffs.

“I’m grateful I spent the first 12 years of my career learning and growing beside such a special group of individuals,” said one of the affected workers, Judy Gómez-Palacios, in a LinkedIn post. “Being an Inker was a big part of my identity, and it might be a big part of yours too. Take the time you need to grieve and know that you’re SO much more than your job."

Alex Armitage also shared thoughts on LinkedIn.

“My time at Custom Ink came to a sudden and shocking close as I and hundreds of seasoned Inkers of 5, 10, and even more years were impacted by this most recent round of layoffs,” Armitage wrote. “Personally, I had been plagued for weeks with the strange and abiding sense that somewhere out there, beyond the periphery of my perception, big personal change was either coming or needed.”

Armitage continued: “For those (Inkers) now on the outside, I’m seeing the overwhelming sentiment that this is an opportunity for a positive shift – and it absolutely is. Inkers are resilient and will be valuable additions wherever they move on to. I’ve heard it said that ‘new beginnings are often disguised as painful endings’ and with that in mind, I welcome the next chapter of this adventure.”

‘A Difficult Process’ & the Swag Space Outlook

Saying that layoffs were occurring amid a “challenging economic environment,” Custom Ink is taking steps to help former employees transition. The promo firm says laid-off employees will receive severance pay of four to 26 weeks, a healthcare subsidy and professional job placement assistance.

“This is a difficult process,” Custom Ink said.

Still, the job actions and facility closures "will help ensure Custom Ink can execute on its long-term mission and financial plan, as the company builds on its strong market position, leading brand, and outstanding reputation to better serve customers, team members, partners, and all the communities it touches."

Custom Ink this month announced the launch of Swag Space, an end-to-end swag-management platform that aims to streamline the entire buying, production and distribution process so that distributors can focus more time on sales, relationship-building and prospecting. Swag Space Founder Jeremy Parker told ASI Media that the Swag Space team was not affected by the job reductions.

Part of the Swag Space solution includes managing the production and fulfillment process. Parker said that such offerings would not be affected by the recent round of layoffs and closures of production facilities.

Custom Ink wants to turn competitors into customers with a just-launched, end-to-end swag-management platform for #promotionalproducts distributors. Not an endorsement, or a criticism. Just a heads-up.https://t.co/Pgpg95TrxE

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) December 12, 2023

“While unfortunate, these recent job actions illustrate the challenges that many swag distributors are facing in trying to manage their own production, as well as the advantages that distributors can leverage through Swag Space by using Custom Ink's proven network of vendor partners,” Parker told ASI Media.

He continued: “Technology has always been our foundation and our roots, and these moves will allow the Swag Space team to focus on continued improvements to that tech platform, while outsourcing production to our industry-leading vendor network. We think this approach will best serve the needs of both Custom Ink customers and Swag Space distributors.”

Investors led by Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm with billions of dollars in assets under management, recapitalized Custom Ink in 2019 and remain invested in the firm. 

Operating on e-commerce model, Custom Ink made headlines in late 2021 and early 2022 with the acquisitions of Swag.com (asi/287954) and Printfection (asi/299397).

Based on estimated 2022 North American promotional products revenue of $650 million, Custom Ink sits fourth on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in