Sears Holdings is cutting 400 full-time jobs in its corporate offices as part of ongoing restructuring efforts designed to cut annualized costs by $1.25 billion, the company said. The company cut open positions first, then contract employees before making cuts to full-time employees, according to a report from CNBC.
Sears corporate offices are in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The layoffs would also also affect positions at field operations. Sears said its president of online operations, Stephan Zoll, is stepping down, effective June 15.
As part of the retailer’s ongoing restructuring, Sears also said that it was paying down $418 million in term loans and monetizing real estate assets to improve performance. The company said the moves have helped it save $1 billion on an annualized basis, to date, and it’s on pace to meet its $1.25 billion savings target.
Last week it was reported that Sears would be closing 66 stores in addition to the 180 planned closures it announced earlier this year.
“We remain focused on realigning our business model in an evolving and highly competitive retail environment,” CEO Eddie Lampert said. “This requires us to optimize our store footprint and operate as a leaner and simpler organization.”
The news on job cuts comes the same day that Sears Canada, a separately traded public company, announced that it was reviewing its strategic options and could be up for sale. Sears Canada was spun off from Sears in 2012; its management team indicated on Tuesday that based on its projections cash and forecasted cash flows from operations are not expected to be sufficient to meet the company’s obligations over the next 12 months.