In a major restructuring bid which will cost the company upwards of $1 billion, Sears Holdings Corp will be laying off 130 employees from their executive offices in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The company announced that the layoffs are due to a slowing of their traditional retail business.
The details of the firings were elaborated in an email sent by the Sears CEO, Eddie Lampert to the employees at headquarters, on Thursday.
Lampert stated in the memo that the layoffs are part of their cost-cutting plan which are
“necessary to create a more nimble operating structure capable of driving the company’s strategic transformation forward.”
Lampert has already announced earlier this month that Sears will be closing 150 stores over the next two months. Lowering overhead, especially at the corporate level, is also part of the plan.
Sears posted a 16 percent loss in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2016, about $6.1 billion. The hopeful holiday season proved flat for Sears, so cost-cutting seems the best choice to staying in business.
Two major trends have taken their toll on the iconic retail department store chain, which also owns Kmart stores: more on-line sales, and slower mall traffic. Over the past eight years the company has most likely lost about $9 billion as their traditional business model has come under increasing pressure.
