News comes as TDC predicts 100,000 more retail employees to lose jobs by year end
After more than three and a half centuries of shaping Canada’s retail landscape, Hudson’s Bay Company is set to shutter all its remaining stores by June 1, marking the final chapter for the country's oldest department store. The wind-down, prompted by mounting financial distress, will result in the loss of employment for over 8,300 workers, most without severance.
Court documents made public this week confirm that the sweeping closures encompass all 96 stores from coast to coast, as well as distribution centres and the corporate head office. By June 15, an additional 900 employees are expected to be dismissed, leaving only a small contingent behind to oversee final logistics such as removing fixtures and clearing out inventory.
Hudson’s Bay filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on March 7. It now seeks judicial approval to enable its terminated workers to access the federal Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), which provides limited financial relief to employees of bankrupt companies. The maximum eligible payout under the program is $8,844.22 per person.
“This is good news in otherwise very difficult circumstances,” said lawyer Susan Ursel in a statement to multiple news outlets. Her firm was appointed by the court to represent HBC’s workers.
For some employees, however, the pain is not limited to the loss of wages. Roughly 189 people receiving long-term...
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