Target announced Thursday the company will close all Canadian stores, completely halting operations in the country.
Target Canada has also filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the “CCAA”) with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) in Toronto, the company says.
All 133 Target Canada stores will be liquidated and closed down, leaving approximately 17,600 jobless. As part of the request to the court, Target Canada is seeking approval to establish an Employee Trust of C$70 million (approximately US$59 million) in order to pay their workers a 16-week severance package.
“The Target Canada team has worked tirelessly to improve the fundamentals, fix operations and build a deeper relationship with our guests. We hoped that these efforts in Canada would lead to a successful holiday season, but we did not see the required step-change in our holiday performance,” said Brian Cornell, Target Corporation Chairman and CEO.
Cornell said that following a review of the company’s performance in Canada, they were unable to find a way to be profitable until at least 2021.
“There is no doubt that the next several weeks will be difficult, but we will make every effort to handle our exit in an appropriate and orderly way,” said Cornell.
Featured image: Chase Mullins for Vancity Buzz
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