Hudson's Bay closures to cause job losses well beyond the retailer

A shopper leaves the Hudson's Bay store in downtown Calgary, Alta., Thursday, March 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

TORONTO — When Hudson’s Bay closes the vast majority of its stores in June, the job losses will extend beyond the storied retailer’s own workforce.

Canadians working for salons, spas and other service providers located within the Bay and its sister stores Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off Fifth stand to lose their jobs, along with staff hired directly by some brands to preside over beauty counters, jewelry departments or fashion boutiques throughout the stores.

People whose companies sell merchandise to the Bay and are thus losing one of their key revenue streams, could also wind up on the chopping block with the retailers’ 9,364 workers.

“As bad as it is (because of) the direct hit with the Bay employees, the implications go far wider than that,” said Lanita Layton, a luxury and retail consultant who was once a vice-president at Holt Renfrew.

She and others in the retail industry foresee a significant blow to the country’s job market when 74 Bay, two Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off Fifth stores shutter in June, following months of liquidation sales. The current wind-down plan has left six properties alive but looking for a lifeline.

Mike Purkis, president of Caulfeild Apparel Group Ltd., estimates the fall of Hudson’s Bay will result in as many job losses outside the company as within it.

His business, which is behind the Joe Boxer, Modern English and Benson brands, slimmed down its staffing in the years before Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection last month.

“The Bay has been struggling for two years. You didn’t know when (its demise) was going to happen, but you assumed it was going to happen, so we realigned our business and recalibrated over the last 18 months to protect ourselves as much as possible against this,” Purkis said.

He doesn’t anticipate further cuts to his own workforce but thinks inventory management companies will likely take a hit.

These businesses ensure that merchandise makes it from the loading dock to store shelves and that it’s properly arranged.

Caulfeild cancelled their services as soon as liquidation talk surfaced.

“I assume they’re facing a big reduction in business,” Purkis said.

He also foresees job losses ensnaring people plowing parking lots and walkways, cleaning windows and even managing store infrastructure such as escalators and elevators.

Then there are the companies that relied on the retailer to sell 100 per cent of their merchandise. Purkis thinks many will struggle to find other stores willing to stock their goods even as they have trouble recovering losses from Hudson’s Bay, whose list of creditors spans 26 pages and who collectively are owed almost $1 billion.

“There are companies on that (list that) will probably not be in business,” he said. “I don’t know how certain people handle that big of a hit.”

John Nguyen was confident his company will survive the Bay’s demise, but admitted some staff may not hang onto their jobs.

The CEO of salon chain Hair Republic operates four locations, including one in Hudson’s Bay in the Rideau Centre in Ottawa and another at the retailer’s Sherway Gardens location in Toronto.

He’s not concerned about the staff at the Ottawa store because they can be shifted to Hair Republic’s other locations in the city but said some support staff will be laid off.

He’s unsure what will happen to his Toronto workers because the salon there has both an entrance through the Bay and one outside, so the landlord may allow it to keep operating when the department store closes.

When staff ask what to expect, he tries to be optimistic.

“Especially while we’re going through a labour shortage, we don’t want to spook anybody into leaving us prematurely,” Nguyen said.

At other companies, workers already have a definitive answer.

The Estée Lauder Cos. told The Canadian Press last month that staff will no longer preside over Mac counters at Hudson’s Bay come May 31, but didn’t clarify whether the workers were being laid off.

“We remain deeply committed to our consumers and employees in Canada and will carry out this transition with the utmost respect and care for our teams,” a statement from the beauty conglomerate said.

Jeremy Herman, an associate at law firm Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, said he has heard from up to 20 Estée Lauder employees who tell him they’re being terminated by the company.

He and Layton suspect the same thing could happen to workers who are sometimes hired by luxury brands to supervise their Bay or Saks departments.

“The leased shops are probably now going, ‘What happens to our staff?‘” said Layton. “If they’re lucky, they’re able to put them into other stores of theirs, but there’s also a potential hit there as well.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2025.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press