{"id":60180,"date":"2025-05-27T14:58:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T14:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/05\/27\/hudsons-bay-to-close-all-stores-and-terminate-8347-staff-by-this-sunday\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T14:58:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T14:58:38","slug":"hudsons-bay-to-close-all-stores-and-terminate-8347-staff-by-this-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/05\/27\/hudsons-bay-to-close-all-stores-and-terminate-8347-staff-by-this-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Hudson's Bay to close all stores and terminate 8,347 staff by this Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n
\"Hudson's<\/p>\n

Hudson\u2019s Bay Co.<\/p>\n

\u00a0expects to let go about 90 per cent of its employees, or about 8,400 people, and close all 96 of its stores by June 1 as part of an ongoing restructuring process, according to a new court document. <\/p>\n

Around 900 more employees are expected to be let go by June 15, the document said, with the remaining 100 or so employees assisting in winding up Canada\u2019s oldest department store, which filed for Companies\u2019 Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on March 7. <\/p>\n

HBC\u2019s lawyers will return to court on June 3 to ensure the retailer\u2019s employees can access payments under the federal Wage Earner Protection Program Act (WEPPA). <\/p>\n

\u201cThe WEPPA permits eligible former employees to collect certain eligible wages, including termination and severance pay, owed to such former employees where the former employer is the subject of CCAA proceedings, and a court determines that the criteria prescribed by the WEPP Regulation (are) met,\u201d the court document said. <\/p>\n

HBC\u2019s employees may be eligible for a maximum of $8,800. <\/p>\n

HBC started liquidating 90 of its 96 stores in March, but had hoped to keep six open, including its flagship store in downtown Toronto, as well as two others in the Greater Toronto Area and three in the Greater Montreal Area. <\/p>\n

That plan was scrapped, however, because it interfered with the company\u2019s efforts to raise the roughly $1 billion it needed to pay back creditors, and <\/p>\n

liquidation of the final stores began in April. <\/p>\n

The 355-year-old retailer employed approximately 9,364 people across 96 stores, four distribution centres and its head office when it filed for CCAA. <\/p>\n

The company has been looking for different ways to raise money, such as liquidating its stores, monetizing its leases, selling its intellectual property and auctioning its artifacts. <\/p>\n

So far, HBC has inked agreements with Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. for about $30 million and a company run by British Columbia-based billionaire Ruby Liu for its intellectual property and leases, respectively. Both agreements need to be approved by an Ontario court. <\/p>\n

Aside from seeking approval to allow its workers to receive payments from the federal government through the WEPPA, HBC will also ask the court to approve the Canadian Tire deal on June 3. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter careful consideration, the company\u2019s board of directors \u2026 determined that the bid submitted by Canadian Tire was the most favourable,\u201d the court document said. \u201cIn addition, the Canadian Tire bid will allow for the company\u2019s iconic marks and intellectual property to be utilized by another of Canada\u2019s iconic retailers, ensuring that an important part of the company\u2019s legacy will continue into the future.\u201d <\/p>\n