Best Buy Canada laying off 750 workers as in-store sales slow

Best Buy Canada let go hundreds of employees on March 1, 2021 in response to a decline of in-store sales.

Part-time and seasonal employees make up 660 of the 750 staff members that have been terminated. The lay off is part of larger cuts across Best Buy, resulting in the loss of 5,000 jobs.

Tara Narain, a senior communications manage at Best Buy Canada, says the changes are in reaction to a shift in customer behaviour. The COVID-19 pandemic has further fuelled online sales rather than the brick-and-mortar experience.

“We’ve seen consumer behaviour change in Canada, and so similarly we’ve had to evolve to meet those needs,” says Narain.

Best Buy Canada counts 167 stores across the country and employs over 12,000 people.

Fired from Best Buy?

If you are an employee at Best Buy in Ontario, Alberta or B.C. and are laid off or let go, now or in the future, you need to know your rights when it comes to terminations.

WATCH: Lior Samfiru, Toronto employment lawyer and partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, told CTV News why Future Shop severance packages offered by Best Buy were completely inadequate.

Severance packages

All Best Buy Canada employees who lose their job must receive severance pay. This applies to full-time, part-time and seasonal workers. Severance pay (or termination pay) is calculated by reviewing many factors, including:

• Age
• Length of employment
• Position
• Salary
• Bonus
• Benefits
• Ability to find similar employment

The COVID-19 pandemic does not give Best Buy Canada the right to avoid paying severance. Employees will  actually receive larger severance packages because they will have a harder time finding a new job.

Some employees who are terminated without cause (or incorrectly terminated for cause) are often given low severance offers. This is commonly known as a wrongful dismissal. Our wrongful dismissal lawyers can review your severance package and ensure that you are getting the proper amount of pay.

Contact an experienced employment lawyer

Our employment lawyers have helped tens of thousands of Canadians secure proper severance pay. The difference between what you are offered and what we can negotiate could be tens of thousands of dollars.

Use our Pocket Employment Lawyer or Severance Pay Calculator to find out what your rights are.

In 2015, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helped a large number of Future Shop employees get fair severance pay, after the retailer closed its doors permanently and wrongful dismissed over 1,500 employees.

As Canada’s most positively reviewed employment law firm, we work hard to provide strong customer service to our clients.