Sears Canada plans 712 job cuts, including head office

Toronto – Sears Canada is undergoing a six-month reorganization that will result in 712 job cuts, including 79 staffers that have already been terminated at its head office. According to Sears, the head office staff reduction aligns its support structure with the size and volume of the organization and also takes advantage of internal processes that have been recently implemented to improve efficiency.



In addition, in its repair service division, Sears Canada will be shifting to using exclusively Sears-authorized contracted technicians in mid-markets, which it has been using in smaller markets for several years, resulting in a reduction of Sears technicians and support teams in these locations. Due to their complexity and size, major markets will continue to be primarily serviced by Sears technicians, although the teams will be streamlined. There has also been a shift of in-warranty repair work on major appliances from Sears to its suppliers as is the industry standard.



In the parts division, 16 existing stand-alone parts processing locations and a central processing center in Belleville, Ontario will be consolidated into three major fulfillment centers located in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. Where a parts processing location is closing outside of these three cities, a parts counter will open in a nearby Sears location so that customers can continue to have local access. This model has been piloted in three locations with what the company says has been no impact to customer service.



The reorganization of repair services and parts will result in the streamlining of support functions in both the company's head office and the field including consolidating the dispatch function to one English language center in Toronto and one French language center in Montreal.



"The changes we are announcing today are being made to bring the structure of our organization in line with the size of our business," said Doug Campbell, president and CEO, Sears Canada Inc. "These improvements are initiatives we are implementing as part of the efficiency lever, one of the three levers we utilize along with the merchandising lever and network lever to maximize total value for the organization. While right-sizing is important for a more effective enterprise, our greatest opportunity lies within the merchandising lever, where our focus is on providing quality products and services that Canadians expect from Sears when and where they want them at prices that provide great value.”