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Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Hudson's Bay employees who lost jobs can apply for federal support, court rules
The Ontario Superior Court has granted approval for thousands of Hudson's Bay Co. employees who have lost their jobs to seek support under the federal government's Wage Earner Protection Program. The court decision on Tuesday triggers an entitlement to federal benefits for the retailer's former staff. More than 8,300 Bay employees have now been terminated without severance pay. The court hearing occurred just two days after Canada's oldest retailer completed its liquidation sales, closing its doors for the final time over the weekend. 'That's a milestone, albeit an unhappy one,' Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Osborne said during Tuesday's hearing. While discussing the end of the Bay's liquidation, he remarked, 'The end of an era.' Lawyers appointed to represent the Hudson's Bay employees are now in discussions with Service Canada to develop a timeline for employees to access those federal benefits. 'We know they want it as soon as possible,' Susan Ursel of Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP said at the hearing. Also on Tuesday, the court approved a motion from RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust to place a joint venture it co-owns with Hudson's Bay into receivership. The joint venture gives RioCan a stake in 12 properties where Bay stores were located, including buildings in downtown Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa, and locations in high-profile malls such as Yorkdale and Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto. FTI Consulting Canada Inc. will act as receiver for the companies that fall under the joint venture. A third matter before the court on Tuesday was an application to approve Canadian Tire Corp.'s $30-million deal to acquire Hudson's Bay's intellectual property. That approval is needed to transfer ownership of a trove of the historic retailer's brand names, logos, and stripe design dating back to the point blankets used in the fur trade in the 18th century. Justice Osborne stood down that matter on Tuesday, saying that he wanted to consider some specific matters related to the deal. In particular, he questioned lawyers for Hudson's Bay about the inclusion of the trademark for the company's 1670 Royal Charter. The charter itself is part of a separate auction of the Hudson's Bay art and artifacts collection, which has yet to occur. The process for that auction is still in development. It is important that the deal does not allow Canadian Tire to prevent others from calling the document 'the royal charter,' or advertising it as such, Justice Osborne said during Tuesday's hearing. Ashley Taylor, a lawyer with Stikeman Elliott LLP representing Hudson's Bay, told the court on Tuesday that there was no opposition to the Canadian Tire deal, which was reached after 'a robust' sales process. Reflect Advisors LLC, the financial adviser handling that process, initially sent out materials related to the sale to 407 parties considered potential bidders, and received a total of 17 bids. Hudson's Bay had been seeking a going-concern transaction to keep alive the operations of at least some of the stores. The company pitched a plan to potential buyers or investors, proposing a turnaround of six Bay stores that had initially been left out of liquidation, as well as the e-commerce operations, according to a confidential memorandum prepared by Hudson's Bay in March, a copy of which was obtained by The Globe and Mail. That plan would have required $82-million in investment in the first year, according to the document. No such buyer or investor emerged.
Hamilton Spectator
30-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Hamilton and Burlington Hudson's Bay stores closing Sunday
Hudson's Bay stores in Hamilton's Lime Ridge Mall and Burlington's Mapleview Centre will officially close on Sunday. The closures come as the decades-old retailer finalizes its liquidation period, which saw sales as high as 80 per cent off. All Bay stores will close on June 1. On Sunday, the company will lay off 8,340 employees or 89 per cent of its workforce, The Star reported on Tuesday. Exactly two weeks later, another 899 employees will lose their jobs. It is unclear how many jobs will be lost locally. Tiffany Bourré, a Hudson Bay's spokesperson, said she did not have an employee count by store. The company will close all of its stores across the country, including 80 Hudson's Bay stores (36 located in Ontario), three Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 13 Saks Off 5th stores. The Hudson's Bay said employees will not receive severance pay when terminated and it has ended benefits, such as pension payment to former senior executives and post-retirement health and dental benefits for 2,000 retirees, The Star reported. In court, the retailer will apply to declare that it meets the criteria for the federal Wage Earner Protection Program, which provides a one-time payment of up to seven weeks of insurable earnings or a maximum of $8,844 for 2025. The 355-year-old company filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in early March with more than $1 billion in debt. The Hudson's Bay said in late April it would close the six stores it had planned to save after determining there was a low chance of finding buyers. The company will seek court approval next Tuesday to sell its intellectual property, which includes its logo, name and multicoloured stripes design, to Canadian Tire for $30 million. — With files from Estella Ren Cheyenne Bholla is a reporter at The Hamilton Spectator. cbholla@
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.
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
