Mountain Equipment Company Severance Packages

MEC, short for Mountain Equipment Company, is a Canadian chain of retail stores specializing in outdoor recreation gear. The company was formed from the assets of the previously defunct retail co-operative, Mountain Equipment Co-op. In October 2020, these assets were acquired by the American private equity firm, Kingswood Capital Management, making them the current owners of MEC.

Services: MEC operates multiple retail stores across Canada, offering a wide range of outdoor products such as camping gear, hiking equipment, clothing, and accessories. They also have an e-commerce platform, providing customers with the option to purchase their products online.

Employees and Offices: MEC’s head office is located in Vancouver, B.C. The company employs roughly 2,500 people through 21 locations across Canada, including Alberta and Ontario.

Types of Jobs: MEC provides a numbers of different jobs and careers, including retail sales associates, customer service representatives, inventory management and logistics, marketing and communications associates, managers, and IT specialists.

Brief History: MEC was formed in 1971 in Vancouver as Mountain Equipment Co-op. The co-operative only sold to customers that had purchased a lifetime membership, or share, with the company. The business started with one single location catering solely to mountaineers and climbers, before expanding to 20 cities to target a broader and more urban clientele with more clothing and supplies. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and years of mounting financial losses, MEC sold its assets to Kingswood in September 2020. Kingswood then launched the current for-profit business in October 2020, eventually rebranding it to Mountain Equipment Company.

Recent layoffs at MEC

• February 2024: MEC is laying off staff as it restructures its business, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has learned.
• Mid-2020: MEC is laying off hundreds of employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Severance for Mountain Equipment Company employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at MEC can get up to 24 months of severance pay when they are fired or laid off from their job. This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, and hourly in Ontario, Alberta, or B.C.

Severance is the compensation a non-unionized worker in Canada receives from their employer when they are fired without cause.

Even if you are fired for cause, it’s very likely that you are still entitled to full severance pay because employees often don’t meet the conditions necessary for this type of dismissal.

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

Regardless of a company’s grasp on employment law, they are legally required to provide proper compensation following a termination.

This concept applies during challenging economic conditions, downsizing, the closure of a business, or major public health events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains everything you need to know about severance pay on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP have represented numerous retail sector employees over the years in severance package negotiations.

We have successfully secured much larger amounts for individuals employed across a variety of positions, from entry level jobs to executives.

How to properly calculate severance pay

Employers often incorrectly calculate severance pay. There is a belief that severance pay is one week’s pay, two weeks’ pay, or a week for every year of service an employee has with the company.

For non-unionized employees, the main factors of termination or severance pay include age, length of service, position, bonuses, benefits, and the ability to find new work.

If you work for Mountain Equipment Company, you are likely a provincially regulated employee. That means your severance package must consider:

• Your minimum severance pay as a provincially regulated employee, which is determined by each individual province.
• Your full severance pay according to our legal system (common law) which can be as much as 24 months’ pay.

To figure out how much compensation you may be entitled to, use our firm’s Pocket Employment Lawyer.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Severance Pay in Ontario
• Alberta severance packages
• Understanding severance in B.C.
• Layoffs in Canada

Don’t sign on the dotted line!

Do not accept any severance offer, termination papers, or exit agreement that Mountain Equipment Company may provide you with.

Once you sign back these documents, you eliminate your ability to negotiate a fair and proper severance package.

Generally speaking, if an employee does not receive the proper amount of severance pay when they lose their job, they may be considered to have been wrongfully dismissed. An employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can analyze your situation and explain how much compensation you may be owed.

Talk to an employment lawyer

The experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has helped tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals across the country. In addition to severance package negotiations, our team has experience securing solutions for the following employment matters:

Our lawyers in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. stand ready to help you solve your workplace issues.

If you are a non-unionized employee who needs help with an employment issue, contact us or call 1-855-821-5900 to get the advice you need, and the compensation you deserve.

Disclaimer: The materials above are provided as general information about the rights of employees in Canada. It is not specific to any one company and should not be read as suggesting any improper conduct on the part of any specific employer.