Sears in U.S. to cut 400 full-time jobs

Sears Holdings says it will cut about 400 full-time jobs as part of the troubled retailer’s plan to turn its business around.

The company, which owns the Sears and Kmart chains, says the cuts include some at its corporate offices in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, support functions globally, certain field operations positions and jobs related to store closures. The eliminated jobs represent less than half a per cent of the 140,000 full-time and part-time employees it had at the end of January.

Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday that the job cuts are part of its previously announced plans to save $1.25 billion in costs a year.

The retailer, which has been losing money for years, has been closing stores, selling locations and putting some of its famous brands up for sale.

The company is reportedly closing an additional 66 stores by early September.

That’s on top of the 150 stores that closed in April.

“We are making progress with the fundamental restructuring of our operations that we initiated in February,” Edward S. Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings, said in a statement.

“We remain focused on realigning our business model in an evolving and highly competitive retail environment. This requires us to optimize our store footprint and operate as a leaner and simpler organization.”

The news comes as Sears Canada, a separate publicly traded company that was spun off from Sears Holdings in 2012, separately announced that it was studying its strategic options, including the possible sale of the company.