A number of senior leaders were asked to leave today as the conglomerate announced the first of 2,000 planned redundancies.
A North American retail giant has begun making the first of 2,000 planned redundancies today with a number of senior leaders asked to leave the organization.
Hudson’s Bay Company announced earlier this year that it would be slimming down its operations in an effort to generate more than $350 million annual savings – now, the effort is underway.
Joe Milano – SVP of digital retail at Saks Fifth Avenue – was among the first to go with senior leaders from Gilt Groupe and Lord & Taylor also impacted.
Demotions are also on the cards for employees as the department store conglomerate pushed towards a less hierarchal structure and essential savings.
"These savings are required to help offset revenue, margin and cost pressures the company is facing as a result of the current environment," HBC said in a statement, released this afternoon.
The organization also laid out its “Transformation Plan” which is the result of a six-month review into inefficiencies and back-of-store productivity in North America.
The plan calls for major changes in senior-level management, including the creation of two distinct leadership teams – one focused on Hudson's Bay in Canada and the other at Lord & Taylor.
Alison Coville has been named president of Hudson's Bay reporting to CEO Jerry Storch while Liz Rodbell – who previously managed both Hudson's Bay and Lord & Taylor – will focus solely on the latter, where she will remain president.
Other initiatives include integrating digital functions across the company while eliminating any superfluous positions across several departments including IT, digital, store operations and visual merchandising, buying and planning, and marketing.
"Our team is taking the right steps to optimise our North American business and create efficiencies by leveraging the scale of our company,” HBC executive chairman Richard Baker said in a statement.
“At this critical moment of change in the retail industry, I believe in the future of our all-channel model and we are adapting to meet the evolving needs of our customers."
Along with $30 million in severance charges incurred during layoffs in February, the company will incur another $95 million in charges related to the "Transformation Plan" over the next 12 months.
However, while thousands will be impacted by demotions and redundancies, a number of top executives were subject to promotions including former SVP of HR Janis Leigh, who is now the firm’s CHRO, responsible for all HR functions across the conglomerate.