Hudson's Bay will cut 2,000 jobs

Canadian retail company Hudson’s Bay will restructure and cut up to 2,000 jobs. The goal is to lower the company’s costs.

“React to changes faster”

A 6-month North American activities study led to the transformation plan. “Bold decisive action will lead to a more flexible organization that will have a cost level reflective of the omnichannel environment in which we operate”, CEO Jerry Storch said. “These changes will help us react to the ever-changing environment and evolving customer needs faster and help us move forward with the industry’s developments.”

The new plan will become active by the end of its fiscal year 2018 and save up to 350 million Canadian dollars (230 million euro) every year. Only this year, it should cut costs by 170 million dollars (110 million euro). Hudson’s Bay will cut 2,000 jobs in North America to make this happen.

Loss

The news about the transformation plan coincides with the company’s revelation it suffered another enormous loss. In 2017’s first quarter, turnover dropped 3 % to 3.2 billion Canadian dollars (2.1 billion euro) and a 221 million dollar (150 million euro) loss. Last year, that loss was “only” 97 million dollars. 

Despite this loss, Hudson’s Bay will continue to invest in expansion: it opened another four Saks Fifth Avenue and 25 Saks Off 5th stores in the first quarter.

“This was a difficult quarter for HBC. The clothing market continues to be extremely challenging and we are taking steps to adapt. Our first step is this transformation plan we announced today”, chairman Richard Baker said.