St. John Knits International Inc. will cut 72 jobs in Irvine effective December 11, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification it filed with the state Employment Development Department.
Cutbacks include an in-house boutique store the apparel maker ran in space off Jamboree Road.
The company in June cut an additional 130 jobs in Irvine.
St. John said the cuts came after it retooled elements of its manufacturing and it will have about 520 workers in Irvine after the latest round.
The moves are the latest downsizing for the local operations of St. John; the company has over the last five or so years significantly reduced the amount of space it occupies in the airport area.
Its products are in 230 retail outlets, including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, along with about 50 boutiques and outlet stores the brand operates on its own.
Marie Gray co-founded the company with husband, Robert, in 1962. Escada AG in Germany paid the Grays $45 million for an 83.5% share in 1989 and took the company public in 1993.
New York private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners bought a majority stake in the brand in a 1999 deal that valued St. John’s at $522 million and took it private.
Shanghai-based Fosun International Ltd. took a one-third stake in the company in late 2013 for $55 million.
