Hasbro (HAS), a play and entertainment company, is outsourcing its strategy to consultants it pays more than $96,000 per day. It now appears these consultants have figured out a way to extend their lucrative engagement another year.

Eleven months after announcing it would cut 1,000 jobs, Hasbro announced it would cut another 900 based on advice received from consultants.

This extends the timeline for the cuts another 18-24 months.

Hasbro paid the consultants $35.3 million and $24.7 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively. The new round of optimization guarantees Hasbro will pay the consultants in 2024 as well.

The money Hasbro has paid consultants is 5.46% of Operating Cash Flow and 1,053% of Operating Income over the last two years.

Hasbro did not provide a reason as to why the additional 900 job cuts weren’t identified eleven months earlier with the original one thousand.

Despite the apparent lack of speed and efficiency, Hasbro has named the cost reduction project “Operational Excellence” which is part of what it calls “Blueprint 2.0”, an initiative Hasbro executives have handed off to outsiders:

“Third party consultants were engaged to assist the Company in performing a comprehensive review of operations and developing a transformation plan designed to support the organization in identifying, realizing, and capturing savings through the identification of organizational initiatives intended to create efficiencies and improve business processes and operations. The consultants assisted in providing benchmark data and are currently assisting with the design of an improved operating model and supply chain function.”

Investors shouldn’t be surprised if the consultants find ways to continue billing Hasbro long after the engagement is supposed to end in 2024.

The company warned in its latest annual report that:

“Going forward, the Company may implement further cost-saving initiatives under the Program that could result in additional restructuring charges…”