Guess Inc., which agreed to be taken private by a group of investors this summer , is “shifting responsibility for several business functions” to Switzerland from its headquarters in downtown Los Angeles and laying off 100 employees.

In August, the designer apparel brand was taken over and brought private as part of a $1.4 billion deal by co-founders Maurice Marciano and Paul Maricano, and Guess Chief Executive Officer Carlos Alberini, who partnered with Authentic Brands Group.

Alberini wrote in a letter to the California Employment Department that the layoffs are expected to begin on or about Dec. 8.

“The company is shifting responsibility for several business functions, in part or in full, to its European headquarters located in Lugano, Switzerland,” he wrote in the letter filed Nov

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