Canadian Tire laying off 3% of staff, cutting ‘majority of current vacancies’

With economic pressures continuing to affect consumer demand and retail sales, Canadian Tire is scaling back its staffing levels.

In its Q3 2023 earnings release, the retail giant said it plans to reduce its number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees by three per cent “as a result of targeted headcount reductions in Q4.”

“We remain focused on driving value for our customers as we head into the important fourth quarter,” President and CEO Greg Hicks said in the release.

“In a more challenging economic environment, we are accelerating efficiency initiatives, prioritizing investments within our Better Connected strategy, and actively managing our resource allocation.”

In addition to the layoffs, Canadian Tire announced a pullback in hiring. The company plans to eliminate the “majority of current vacancies”, which is expected to result in a further FTE reduction of three per cent.

News outlets, including The Globe and Mail, claim that some jobs were already cut this week.

In 2022, Canadian Tire had more than 13,800 full-time employees, according to its website.

Major layoffs continue

The reduction at Canadian Tire comes amid a flurry of layoffs in 2023.

Major employers, including Amazon, PwC, Ubisoft, Maersk, Panera, Splunk, National Bank, and Nokia, have recently announced deep job cuts as they grapple with challenging economic conditions.

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Termination agreements for Canadian Tire staff

As part of the layoff announcement, Canadian Tire expects to take a charge of “between $20 million and $25 million in Q4 2023” in relation to its restructuring actions.

In Canada, non-unionized employees at the retail giant are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

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

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

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

LEARN MORE
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Severance entitlements in a recession

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go 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 severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

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

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.