A casket mascot | Rise and fall of 'Too Many Balls' | Layoffs

Welcome to the BBJ's LinkedIn Weekly Edition! This is Digital Editor Jess Aloe bringing you the week's biggest business news.

Meet Mort. He wants you to talk about death.

Why would Titan Casket , an e-commerce company that brands itself as the fastest direct-to-consumer casket company in the U.S. start selling stuffed toys? Specifically, a squishy brown character with hands, legs and a Cheshire Cat smile presented as your "go-to guide for life's inevitable journey?"

The answer has to do with brand awareness and the Holy Grail of making sales: pre-bookings.

This week, we got to know Mort [Mascot] and his backstory (spoiler: he's atoning for past misdeeds) from Lucia Maffei . Read more here.

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The healthcare industry — a critical part of the regional economy — has been facing a talent workforce crisis for several years. Join the Boston Business Journal for an important conversation on the critical issue of the workforce in healthcare on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at the Westin Copley Place. Register here .

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Here's what else happened this week

Layoffs, layoffs and more layoffs

More layoffs continue to be announced this week. The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is making layoffs in connection with a shift in focus. Yet another gene editing company trimmed its workforce and scaled back its ambition, reported Hannah Green. And Sage Therapeutics , which has faced a string of disappointing drug trial results over the past year, is slashing its headcount by a third and saying goodbye to some executives. Get the details.

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The rise and fall of 'Too Many Balls'

On Tuesday, Boston Unity Soccer Partners unveiled the name for the women's soccer team: BOS Nation. It also unveiled a branding campaign for the team created with creative agency Colossus : "Too Many Balls."

The campaign was short-lived. On Wednesday, the team's organizers posted a statement to Instagram apologizing for the branding, saying that it "missed the mark."

Read more about the backlash here.

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Big moves at State Street

美国道富银行 is losing its CFO. Eric Aboaf is moving on to take a gig at the New York-based S&P Global . On a call discussing its Q3 earnings, CEO Ronald O'Hanley told investors that the CFO role was "vitally important" but said that Aboaf's departure would not signal any major strategic changes. Read more from Greg Ryan (with an assist from me.)

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The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum bought... what?

The art museum famous for being stolen from is now a landlord. Greg Ryan tells you why.

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