Jenny Gordillo – the face of fishing at Costa Sunglasses – has left the company.

Angling International learned the news amid reports in the local Florida business press of swathing jobs cuts at the company following the merger of its parent, Essilor, with fellow sunglasses powerhouse, Luxottica. The deal brings a number of famous eyewear brands under one roof, including Oakley, Foster Grant, Versace, Giorgio Armani and Ray Ban.

Executives at the new partnership have previously said that it planned to integrate Costa into the Luxottica brand portfolio. The first step in the process was the departure of former CEO, Holly Rush, late last year and the Orlando Business Journal has reported that the Daytona Beach business will lay off 295 people this year.

The redundancies are believed to have started earlier this month and will end in September.

Employees affected by the redundancies include several vice presidents and department heads as well as employees in the shipping department and customer support. Others include those in the finance, sales, returns and repair departments.

Gordillo, formerly Export Manager at Costa, was a familiar face at the EFTTEX and ICAST trades shows and a visitor to the winners’ podium at both events as the company enjoyed considerable success in each of the annual award presentations.

Essilor Luxottica would not comment on the number of jobs affected by the integration, but issued the following statement. “Costa is an incredibly special and unique brand and we see great growth potential for it in the future.

“Essilor Luxottica’s decision to integrate Costa into the Luxottica portfolio will allow the brand to fully leverage on Luxottica’s strengths in everything from product innovation to manufacturing to supply chain and distribution networks, helping it reach its full potential.

“As a result of the integration, there are several areas of overlap that will be impacted. While we made every effort to minimise this, many functions and roles will be moved to New York, Atlanta and Foothill Ranch over the coming months. This is not a decision the company took lightly and we are approaching the coming transition period with great care and respect for our people.

“We want to assure you that the integration of Costa into the Luxottica organisation will not affect the DNA of the Costa brand. Costa’s commitment to the fishing and outdoor communities as well as its conservation efforts remain a priority for the team and an important pillar of the brand moving forward.”

Get ready for the price to skyrocket. Everything luxottica has is way over priced.

I have never seen any "under priced" Costa's anywhere.