CHICAGO _ The parent company of Sears and Kmart has laid off more employees at its Hoffman Estates, Ill., headquarters, a week after announcing plans to close about a third of the retailer's remaining stores.
The layoffs, which reportedly affected hundreds of employees, first were reported by Business Insider. The latest job cuts come just two months after a round of layoffs affecting about 250 workers.
A source with knowledge of the situation said fewer than 300 employees working at the company's headquarters and other field offices were affected and had already been notified.
Transformco, which bought Sears and Kmart out of bankruptcy earlier this year, declined to say how many people remain employed in Hoffman Estates. Transformco is controlled by Sears' former CEO Edward Lampert and his hedge fund.
"We have been working hard to position Transformco for success by focusing on our competitive strengths and pruning operations that have struggled due to increased competition and other factors. Unfortunately, this process resulted in a number of difficult but necessary decisions, including closing stores and making adjustments at our corporate headquarters and field positions to reflect our new structure. We regret the impact that this has on our associates and their families," the company said in a statement Thursday.
The retailer is heading into the holidays with 278 Sears and Kmart stores but 96 are expected to close by February, including Sears stores in West Dundee and Peoria. After those closures, which the company announced last week, just three Sears department stores are expected to remain open in Illinois. Those stores are in Chicago Ridge, North Riverside and Schaumburg, along with a Kmart in Des Plaines and a handful of Sears Hometown and Appliance Outlet stores.
