Latest news with #WEPP
Hamilton Spectator
28-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Hudson's Bay to close all its stores and terminate 8,000 employees on June 1
Canada is about to see the largest wave of job losses since the closure of Sears Canada, with its oldest company, Hudson's Bay , set to close all its stores on June 1, marking the end of an era. The 355-year-old company said in a court document filed Monday evening that it will have terminated about 8,340 employees — approximately 89 per cent of its current workforce — by Sunday when it completes the liquidation of more than 80 stores across the country. Another 899 employees will lose their jobs around June 15, with some 120 staying on to assist with the final wind-down of the retail giant. The last time Canada saw layoffs on this scale was in 2018, when Sears Canada shut down more than 100 stores nationwide, putting 12,000 people out of work — many of whom also faced deficits in their pension plans . 'It is really sad. I don't have any words to comfort anyone,' said Hazel Harris, 60, who has poured her 'blood and sweat' into the Hudson's Bay e-commerce distribution centre in Scarborough for seven years, where she hoped to retire. 'What do I do now? How am I going to keep the roof over my head?' said Harris who was laid off on May 1. The Canadian retail icon, saddled with more than $1 billion in debt , filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in early March. While the company made last-minute efforts to find a buyer or investor to save its business, it has concluded that no part of its operations can be salvaged, according to a court document filed Monday. 'It was necessary for the Company to make the difficult decision to significantly reduce employee headcounts to align with the winddown of the liquidation sale and rolling closure of store locations and required employee positions,' the court document read. Hudson's Bay has told employees they will not receive severance pay at the time of termination and has ended several benefits since the liquidation began, including pension payments to some former senior executives and post-retirement health and dental benefits for 2,000 retirees. The defined pension contribution and defined benefit pension for most of the retailer's employees are sufficiently funded. 'We feel very sad, very aligned with the employees and very much attuned to their concerns,' said Susan Ursel, whose law firm Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson, was appointed to represent Hudson Bay's employees and retirees. The firm has created a webpage to update workers. 'We're working very hard to find every means of alleviating their loss of employment.' The only piece of reassuring news for Hudson's Bay employees is that the retailer will apply to the court next Tuesday to declare that it meets the criteria for the federal Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), which would trigger employees' entitlements to benefits under the program. WEPP provides a one-time payment of up to seven weeks of insurable earnings, up to a maximum of $8,844 to employees whose former employer has filed for bankruptcy or protection under the CCAA, said Ursel. Ursel added that her law firm is 'negotiating very hard' with Hudson's Bay about a hardship program that will provide monetary assistance to current and former workers who are in financial distress. On Tuesday, the massive Scarborough distribution centre sat in eerie silence — rows of shelves stood empty, and conveyor belts that once hummed with activity were now lifeless. Outside of the building, Unifor, which represents about 600 Hudson's Bay employees, organized a rally to call on federal government to reform the insolvency laws to better protect workers' wages and benefits. 'Unifor is demanding that HBC pay all owed severance and unpaid wages, protect pensions and benefits and treat its workers with the dignity and respect that they have earned,' said Nena Bogdanovich, Toronto area director of Unifor. 'This is about justice. This is about fairness. We're not backing down,' she said. While workers are owed thousands of dollars in severance, Harris said some might not even have enough qualifying hours to receive employment insurance, as the distribution centre went through multiple layoffs and recalls over the past year. Ursel said employees, along with nearly 1,900 other unsecured creditors, will find out if there's money left over after Hudson's Bay sells off as many of its assets as possible and makes priority payments to secured creditors — Bank of America, Pathlight Capital, Restore Capital and Cadillac Fairview. 'It's a long-standing feature that employees have been treated at the bottom of the list of creditors,' she said, despite recent federal efforts to streamline WEPP following Sears Canada layoffs. Hudson's Bay will also seek court approval next Tuesday for the sale of its intellectual property — including its logo, name, and iconic multicoloured stripes motif — to Canadian Tire in a $30 million transaction. Hudson's Bay said its board of directors, after careful consideration and consultation, determined that the bid submitted by Canadian Tire was 'the most favourable' among the 13 offers it received for its intellectual property. The Star first reported last Friday that the department store chain had signed a deal with Weihong Liu , a B.C. shopping mall owner, to reassign 28 store leases in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. The reassignment of leases is conditional on consent from the landlords or approval by the court.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hudson's Bay to lay off more than 8,300 employees by June 1
Hudson's Bay will lay off more than 8,300 employees — about 89 per cent of its workforce — by Sunday, according to documents published Monday evening, at which point the retailer will have closed all its stores and its liquidation sale will have run its course. CBC News previously reported that the Canadian brand was expected to wind down its operating stores on June 1, and that the majority of its employees would likely be terminated by then. Some employees will be kept on staff to help sell any in-store furniture and to shut down the remaining locations. Once the company's distribution centres close on June 15, an additional 899 employees are expected to be laid off. The remaining 118 employees will help the company carry out its obligations through the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the documents said. Some workers are eligible for severance pay and other wages under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, the documents noted. The act protects employees during scenarios where they are owed money by an employer undergoing insolvency. A court order will determine whether Hudson's Bay employees can apply for benefits under the WEPP. However, the law firm representing those workers says the amount of wages will vary between employees and are not guaranteed. "Given HBC's significant amount of secured debt, it is not clear that employees will be able to recover any amounts owing to them directly from HBC," read a post on the firm's website.
Cision Canada
27-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Hudson's Bay workers rally to demand justice as company terminates thousands and denies severance payouts
TORONTO and WINDSOR, ON, May 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Unifor members who work at Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) rallied in Windsor and Toronto to call for urgent insolvency reform and accountability from HBCexecutives who continue to deny workers' severance as liquidation nears completion. The rallies, led by Unifor Locals 40 and 240 which represent nearly 600 HBC workers, brought attention to the devastating impact of HBC's collapse on its workforce and the broader implications for thousands of Canadian workers caught in corporate bankruptcies. "Unifor is calling on HBC to honour its legal responsibilities to workers and urges federal legislators to overhaul Canada's insolvency laws to put workers first," Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi told HBC members at the Toronto rally. "It's an absolute disgrace that executives are walking away with $3 million dollars in bonuses while our members—some with decades of service—are being denied the severance and benefits they've negotiated, earned, and rightfully deserve." Many Unifor members are owed tens of thousands of dollars in severance, benefits, and unpaid wages. Some workers with 20 or 30 years of service are now facing unemployment with no compensation as they await the full termination of the workforce so they can apply for the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), which caps at approximately $8,844. "The WEPP cap leaves workers with significant financial loss while HBC executives and secured creditors like banks and landlords walk away with payouts," said Unifor Local 40 President Dwayne Gunness. "It's an injustice to all Canadian workers who are caught in the middle when companies fail and collapse—the laws must be changed to make workers priority one." HBC moved to cut workers' commissions during the liquidation process but reversed course after the union filed a grievance that claimed that the move violated legally binding collective agreements. While holding HBC accountable, Unifor is also calling on the federal government to address the systemic gaps in Canada's bankruptcy and insolvency laws. Under current legislation, workers are treated as "unsecured creditors" and often placed at the bottom of the compensation hierarchy—behind banks, landlords, and other investors. Unifor is urging Parliament to implement the following reforms: raise the cap on the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), broaden eligibility and improve access to WEPP for all affected workers, strengthen super-priority status for workers' claims in bankruptcy proceedings, hold corporate directors personally liable for unpaid compensation, and to establish trust-held or federally guaranteed funds to ensure workers are fully compensated in the event of corporate failure. "This is about setting a precedent for how workers are treated in corporate failures moving forward—what HBC is doing to its workforce should be outlawed, and we'll continue fighting to ensure that workers are paid every penny they're owed," says Unifor Local 240 President Jodi Nesbitt. Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hudson's Bay workers rally to demand justice as company terminates thousands and denies severance payouts
TORONTO and WINDSOR, ON, May 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Unifor members who work at Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) rallied in Windsor and Toronto to call for urgent insolvency reform and accountability from HBCexecutives who continue to deny workers' severance as liquidation nears completion. The rallies, led by Unifor Locals 40 and 240 which represent nearly 600 HBC workers, brought attention to the devastating impact of HBC's collapse on its workforce and the broader implications for thousands of Canadian workers caught in corporate bankruptcies. "Unifor is calling on HBC to honour its legal responsibilities to workers and urges federal legislators to overhaul Canada's insolvency laws to put workers first," Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi told HBC members at the Toronto rally. "It's an absolute disgrace that executives are walking away with $3 million dollars in bonuses while our members—some with decades of service—are being denied the severance and benefits they've negotiated, earned, and rightfully deserve." Many Unifor members are owed tens of thousands of dollars in severance, benefits, and unpaid wages. Some workers with 20 or 30 years of service are now facing unemployment with no compensation as they await the full termination of the workforce so they can apply for the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), which caps at approximately $8,844. "The WEPP cap leaves workers with significant financial loss while HBC executives and secured creditors like banks and landlords walk away with payouts," said Unifor Local 40 President Dwayne Gunness. "It's an injustice to all Canadian workers who are caught in the middle when companies fail and collapse—the laws must be changed to make workers priority one." HBC moved to cut workers' commissions during the liquidation process but reversed course after the union filed a grievance that claimed that the move violated legally binding collective agreements. While holding HBC accountable, Unifor is also calling on the federal government to address the systemic gaps in Canada's bankruptcy and insolvency laws. Under current legislation, workers are treated as "unsecured creditors" and often placed at the bottom of the compensation hierarchy—behind banks, landlords, and other investors. Unifor is urging Parliament to implement the following reforms: raise the cap on the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), broaden eligibility and improve access to WEPP for all affected workers, strengthen super-priority status for workers' claims in bankruptcy proceedings, hold corporate directors personally liable for unpaid compensation, and to establish trust-held or federally guaranteed funds to ensure workers are fully compensated in the event of corporate failure. "This is about setting a precedent for how workers are treated in corporate failures moving forward—what HBC is doing to its workforce should be outlawed, and we'll continue fighting to ensure that workers are paid every penny they're owed," says Unifor Local 240 President Jodi Nesbitt. Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future. SOURCE Unifor View original content to download multimedia: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Malaysian Reserve
26-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Unifor rallies to demand justice for Hudson Bay workers
TORONTO and WINDSOR, ON, May 26, 2025 /CNW/ – Unifor is mobilizing in Toronto and Windsor to demand that Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) put workers first as it moves through its liquidation process. The union is calling on HBC to honour its obligations to employees by protecting wages, pensions, and benefits. In addition to confronting HBC, Unifor is pushing for urgent federal insolvency law reform to better protect workers in corporate failures. The union's demands include raising the cap on the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), strengthening super-priority status for workers' claims, holding corporate directors liable for unpaid compensation, and establishing trust-held or federally guaranteed funds to ensure workers are made whole. WHAT: Unifor solidarity rallies to demand HBC prioritize workers' wages, pensions, and benefits during its liquidation process. WHEN: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 12:00 PM – 2:00 p.m. WHERE: TORONTO: HBC Logistics -100 Metropolitan Rd, Scarborough ON WHO: Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi, Unifor Local 40 President Dwayne Gunness, HBC workers WINDSOR: Hudson's Bay – 3100 Howard Avenue, Windsor ON (parking lot on backside of Devonshire Mall) WHO: Unifor Local 240 President Jodi Nesbitt, Unifor Retail Director Sharon Walsh, HBC workers Unifor Locals 40 and 240 represent approximately 595 HBC employees at stores in Windsor, Kitchener, and Toronto's Sherway Gardens, as well as workers at the company's e-commerce warehouse in Scarborough. Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
