That's a big round of layoffs

Sears Canada has been working to restructure as the trouble mounted over the past few weeks but a management-led restructuring failed and today the company announced it will close its nearly 200 stores and lay off 14,000 workers.

A few takeaways:

  1. That's a big hit to Canadian employment, equivalent to a month of job gains. Mitigating that somewhat is that they're mostly part-time and low wage jobs.
  2. The company will liquidate inventory through the holiday season. That will mean huge discounts and disinflationary pressure on Canadian retail sales.
  3. The stores have a very large footprint and it's highly unclear who will fill the empty spaces; something that could pressure broader retail lease rates
  4. This is part of a broader trend in Canada and globally as retail is upended by the internet.