Iconic retailer Hudson’s Bay Co. (TSX:BHM) is permanently laying off more than 600 workers across Canada as it closes stores due to ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns.
Nearly half the company’s department stores remain temporarily closed and the new round of permanent layoffs represents less than 5% of the company’s total workforce.
The majority of impacted workers, both part-time and full-time, have worked for Hudson Bay for between 10 and 30 years, predominantly in sales and middle management at stores in the Toronto area, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.
Non-essential retailers have been hurt during the pandemic, with stores across the country closed or facing strict capacity restrictions. In January, Hudson Bay asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to review the province of Ontario’s decision to temporarily close non-essential retailers.
The court dismissed HBC’s bid to amend Ontario’s retail lockdown rule but questioned what it called the “wisdom and efficacy” of the province’s lockdown measures. In its decision, a panel of the court’s judges said allowing big box stores that sell groceries to remain fully open and potentially generating more customer traffic is “open to question.”
