Washington Prime Group Lays Off 139 at Columbus Headquarters Amid National Sell-Off of Shopping Centers

By James DeCamp

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a move that marks another chapter in the slow unraveling of the traditional American mall empire, Washington Prime Group (WPG), the Columbus-based owner of Polaris Fashion Place, has announced it will lay off 139 employees at its corporate headquarters on East Dublin-Granville Road. The cuts are set to begin on June 2, 2025, and will continue on a rolling basis through March 31, 2026.

This round of layoffs is not your typical corporate trimming. Among the 139 affected are seven senior vice presidents and 11 vice presidents—roles often seen as cornerstones in the strategic leadership of a company. Their departure signals not just a reduction in headcount, but a significant shift in how, or whether, Washington Prime continues to exist in its current form.

The layoffs were disclosed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing with the state of Ohio, and they follow a stark admission from the company: Washington Prime Group is selling off the bulk of its portfolio of shopping centers.

“As part of WPG’s multi-year journey, the company continues to sell assets in its portfolio, with about half of WPG’s properties sold in the past year, while the remainder of the portfolio is or will soon be on the market,” the company said in a statement released by a spokesperson.

The company, which once owned over 100 shopping centers across the country, now lists about 70 properties under its control, including The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek, Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, and its flagship Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus. But several high-profile Ohio retail centers—Indian Mound Mall in Heath, Dayton Mall, Lima Mall, New Towne Mall in New Philadelphia, and Southern Park Mall in Youngstown—have already been sold off.

Employees, the company insists, have not been blindsided. “The company’s strategy has been transparently communicated and understood for some time, and WPG has worked closely with employees to ensure they have the resources and support needed,” the spokesperson said. Those resources include severance packages, resume workshops, access to outplacement services, and professional development programs aimed at helping workers transition into new opportunities.

But the optics are still jarring. This is a company that, just a few years ago, was considered one of the country’s major retail real estate investment trusts (REITs). The COVID-19 pandemic, however, accelerated the slow-motion collapse of the mall model. Foot traffic plummeted, revenue dried up, and tenants defaulted on leases. Washington Prime Group, like many of its peers, buckled under the pressure.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2021, weighed down by $3.5 billion in debt and an industry undergoing tectonic shifts. In November of that year, WPG emerged from bankruptcy protection as a private company, shedding its public listing and falling into the hands of SVPGlobal, a Connecticut-based private equity firm that specializes in distressed assets.

Going private gave WPG breathing room—but not a new lease on life. Since emerging from bankruptcy, the company has steadily offloaded properties, focusing its efforts on salvaging value from what it can while preparing for a much leaner future.

The layoffs announced this week represent more than the usual quarterly churn of corporate America. They are emblematic of a company in retreat, divesting not just from real estate but from the entire idea of what it once was. The shedding of upper management suggests that WPG is not simply streamlining, but winding down significant operations altogether.

Retail experts see this as part of a larger trend. “This is a natural continuation of a mall landscape that’s fundamentally changed,” said Debra Hanson, a retail analyst based in Chicago. “Consumers aren’t returning to malls the way they once did. The pandemic just accelerated a trend that’s been going on for years. The traditional mall, especially the mid-tier regional ones, are rapidly becoming obsolete.”

Indeed, the few malls that are thriving today tend to be high-end, experience-driven, or repurposed into mixed-use developments that go beyond shopping. Many of the properties WPG has sold or is trying to sell are in secondary markets or struggling economic areas—places where the future of retail looks increasingly dim.

That places WPG in a difficult spot. Polaris Fashion Place remains a regional draw, but it too faces competition from Easton Town Center, online shopping, and changing consumer behaviors. The mall’s continued viability remains uncertain, especially with its parent company shrinking its footprint and thinning its ranks.

And yet, for all the doom and gloom, Washington Prime is trying to control the narrative, painting the layoffs and asset sales as part of a “multi-year journey.” Whether that journey ends in reinvention or oblivion remains to be seen.

In the meantime, the 139 people set to lose their jobs over the next year—many of whom helped build the company into what it once was—are left to navigate a harsh new retail reality.

Some may land at other commercial real estate firms, others may leave the industry altogether. But for the hundreds of communities once anchored by WPG malls, and the thousands of workers who relied on them, the slow dismantling of Washington Prime Group is more than a corporate restructuring—it’s the end of an era.