Sears to close all stores in Canada, lay off 12,000 employees

Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Sears Canada announced it is going out of business Tuesday, resulting in the closing of 130 stores and the loss of more than 12,000 jobs.

"Sears Canada, with the recommendation of its advisers and approval of the monitor, FTI Consulting Inc., is seeking an order to commence a liquidation that would result in a wind-down of its business following court approval," Sears Canada said in a press release. "The company deeply regrets this pending outcome and the resulting loss of jobs and store closures."

The company has already closed 59 stores since June and announced the closure of another 11. Sears Canada will seek court approval on Friday to liquidate the rest of its assets.

If approval is granted, closings will begin next week and continue over the next 10 to 14 weeks, according to the CBC.

In a letter to employees, Sears Canada Executive Vice President Becky Penrice said she blamed the "state of the retail market today" for the decision.

"You and our former colleagues have stuck by us and continued to give it your all. I sincerely regret that we have reached this point," Penrice said.

At one of Sears' locations in Ontario, a sign read "Major Reinvention in Progress," the Toronto Star reported.

"Reinvention for who?" customer Carolyn Hitchinson told the paper. "That sign really irritates me. It is a misrepresentation of what they're doing, getting ready to sell before Christmas and letting all those poor people go."