Best Buy cutting 700 jobs amid slowdown in sales

Hundreds of jobs are on the chopping block at Best Buy, as the consumer electronics retailer grapples with slowing sales following a spike in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian Press (CP) reported on Jan. 25 that the company is laying off approximately 700 employees, or 0.7 per cent of its total workforce.

The story was picked up by multiple news outlets, including Global News.

Anna LeGresley, a spokesperson for Best Buy Canada, told CP that the reduction comes as the retailer works to “support our stores and serve our customers.”

In addition to the job cuts, LeGresley said some staff members have been moved to different stores.

According to Best Buy’s Fiscal 2022 Annual Report, the company has around 105,000 employees in Canada and the U.S.

Canadian impact

It remains unclear how many Best Buy employees in Canada are affected by the latest round of cuts and if any stores will be closed.

Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has been contacted by several Canadian workers who claim that they have been laid off by the consumer electronics retailer.

“We are still assessing their initial severance offers before they accept them to ensure that they haven’t been wrongfully dismissed,” Lior Samfiru, national co-managing partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP told CP.

“Even when a business is experiencing difficulties, employers are legally required to provide full compensation.”

Major layoffs continue

Best Buy is the latest in a growing list of major North American companies that are kicking off 2023 with significant layoffs.

Hudson’s Bay, Alphabet, Clearco, Hootsuite, Benevity, Lightspeed, Clutch, Microsoft, Amazon, and Salesforce have announced deep job cuts as they continue to monitor market conditions.

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• Thinkific laying off 76 workers, looking to ‘return to profitability’
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• Layoffs in Canada

Termination agreements for Best Buy Canada employees

Non-unionized employees and senior executives at Best Buy Canada are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance pay in a recession 

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.