Sears to lay-off 220 corporate employees

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Feb 1, 2018

Sears Holding Corp plans to eliminate about 220 jobs at its corporate offices, as the department store continues to struggle.  
 

Positions are being cut across the organization, but the cutbacks will mainly take place at the company’s headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, throughout various business units and roles.
 
The move is a part of an ongoing restructuring plan focused on cutting costs and to help the company reach profitability, following six years of losses.

The company has been struggling to keep up with online giant Amazon, and across the e-commerce sector as a whole. Moreover, while fellow retailers like Target and Macy's reported relatively strong holiday sales, Sears sales continued to plunge. 
 
Earlier this month, the company announced it was closing 103 unprofitable Kmart and Sears stores, following the closure of some 400 stores last year. Sixty-four Kmart stores and 39 Sears stores are expected to close between early March and early April of this year.
 
“We made significant progress in our efforts to improve our financial position and to sharpen our operating focus,” Sears spokesperson Howard Riefs told Bloomberg.