Recently, according to report, Canada’s oldest retailer, Hudson’s Bay Company, is preparing to lay off 8,347 employees—89 percent of its workforce—by Sunday, when it will complete its liquidation sales and permanently shut its doors. The announcement, disclosed in official documents late Monday, marks the end of a 355-year legacy that has been deeply woven into the fabric of Canadian identity and retail history.
Founded in 1670, Hudson’s Bay has long anchored malls across the country, but like many traditional department stores, it has struggled to keep up with declining in-store traffic and the rapid shift toward online shopping. The layoffs come amid rising unemployment in Canada, which reached 6.9 percent in April—the highest level since November—due in part to the impact of U.S. tariffs on the country’s export-driven economy.
The retailer had warned in March that it would liquidate all stores unless a viable alternative could be found. That decision followed the launch of restructuring proceedings earlier that month. Prior to the liquidation process, Hudson’s Bay employed 9,634 people across 96 stores, four distribution centres, and its head office.
Of the remaining 1,017 employees, 899 are expected to be laid off by mid-June when distribution centres shut down. The final 118 workers will stay on to oversee the winding down of the company under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
This sweeping closure mirrors the fate of Sears Canada, which shut down in 2018, resulting in the loss of around 12,000 jobs. In a bid to preserve some of Hudson’s Bay’s legacy, Canadian Tire Corporation announced this month that it had acquired the company’s brand assets—including its iconic coat of arms and recognizable stripes—for $30 million.
