Cranium lays off 20 in restructuring move

Seattle board-game maker Cranium laid off a fifth of its work force this week as part of a companywide restructuring designed to make its operations more efficient.

The company eliminated 20 positions, leaving 80 employees and a new staff structure, said spokeswoman Heather Snavely. Workers who previously were assigned to business units, such as toys and games, are now part of "functional teams" in product development, sales and other categories.

The restructuring took place on Wednesday and created some redundant positions, Snavely said. The move was not to prepare the company for potential buyers; Snavely said that Cranium is independently owned and not for sale.

Cranium announced in February that it is doubling its product portfolio by this fall and is expanding into puzzles and electronic-learning toys. Sales increased by 25 percent in 2006, the company said. It is also debuting games made exclusively for Toys "R" Us, Target and Starbucks.

Kim Peterson: 206-464-2360

or kpeterson@seattletimes.com