Sears Holdings Corp. has started a major wave of layoffs at its Hoffman Estates headquarters in the wake of last month’s merger with Kmart Holding Corp.
The job cuts mark the turning point of what will ultimately be a leaner, lower-cost corporate structure at Sears, which has been accused of having a mind-numbing bureaucracy.
Sears, which has about 4,000 employees at its Hoffman Estates headquarters, is directing workers who are losing their jobs to a suburban hotel to receive outplacement services. That journey is expected to continue the rest of this week.
Departures of about a dozen high-level executives occurred a few weeks ago, and the cuts have been winding their way down to the lower levels of the company.
“We are offering severance packages and outplacement to headquarters associates,” Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite said Tuesday.
He declined to be more specific on the number of jobs being cut. Sears has informed local, state and federal officials that at least 500 workers–the minimum threshold for alerting the federal government–will be let go as part of a “mass layoff.”
But one former Sears executive has said that he hears cuts range from several hundred to more than 1,000. Rumored numbers exceed that figure but fluctuate wildly almost from hour to hour.
“Things are pretty tense at headquarters,” said another former Sears executive with friends still there.
At a local watering hole Tuesday night, two Sears employees wondered about their immediate futures. They were told that the layoffs would hit their department on Wednesday.
“What happens, we don’t know,” said one worker, who has been with Sears for five years. He declined to give his name or department.
“I know people (were laid off),” said the other worker, who has spent 20 years at Sears. “The thought that you could work for a company for a large number of years and not be able to retire with them is disappointing, is regrettable and really a microcosm of what corporate America has become today.”
Sears, the nation’s third-biggest retailer, wants to achieve $300 million in savings by gaining purchasing clout and cutting expenses, including jobs.
On the day that the merger was consummated, company officials said they aspired to create a corporate culture similar to that of Internet pioneers Yahoo Inc. and Amazon.com.
One government employee at Hoffman Estates who preferred not to be named said they’re not sure whether the job cuts will exceed 500.
The number, however, could be revised later. As of Tuesday, the notice was still at 500.
Sears stores are not affected by the job cuts.
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byerak@tribune.com
