Canada’s oldest retailer, Hudson’s Bay Company, will lay off 8,347 employees, nearly 90% of its workforce, by Sunday as it concludes its nationwide liquidation sale and shuts down all physical stores.
The sweeping job cuts mark the end of a 355-year-old institution that once defined Canadian retail, with department stores anchoring malls across the country since its founding in 1670.
The company’s remaining 1,017 staff will be mostly cut by mid-June as distribution centres wind down, with a final group of 118 employees staying on to assist with the closure under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
The layoffs come as Canada grapples with rising unemployment, which hit 6.9% in April, the highest level since November, amid growing economic strain and the impact of US tariffs on Canadian exports.
Hudson’s Bay had announced in March that it would liquidate all stores unless a buyer or rescue plan could be secured. No such plan materialised.
Prior to the liquidation, the company employed more than 9,600 people across 96 stores, four distribution centres, and its head office.
It follows the fate of Sears Canada, which closed in 2018 with 12,000 jobs lost.
While Hudson’s Bay’s physical footprint will disappear, its legacy will live on in name.
Canadian Tire has acquired the company’s iconic brand assets, including its coat of arms and distinctive stripes, for $30 million.
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