Canadian department store Hudson’s Bay will be shutting shop in the Netherlands by the end of this year, reports NOS. After having been open for just over two years, they will be closing down all 15 branches in the country.
There have been rumours going around that this would happen for a while now, but they never confirmed it. The 1400 people who work for them in the Netherlands got word this afternoon. “We have also seen retailers in the past who pulled the plug and had themselves declared bankrupt. The employees are then left empty-handed,” said Jacqueline Twerde of the trade union CNV Vakmensen.
But they’re going to do the right thing and make sure the employees get a severance payment. This plan will include people who have been working for them for less than two years where they will get reimbursement. They can apply for other jobs in the coming months. Hudson’s Bay wants to aid them in this by organising a job market for them.
People already know that things were going downhill for Hudson’s Bay, especially in its European branches. They suffered a major loss of 317 million euros last quarter. 47 million euros of this loss was at its European stores. So people had an inkling that things were not going so well for them. They didn’t reveal how much of this loss was in the Netherlands, but clearly things were bad.
Are you sad to see Hudson’s Bay go? Were you a frequent shopper there or does this not affect you? Let us know in the comments below!
Feature Image: Abuzer van Leeuwan
This is sad news. We like Hudson’s Bay stores very much. They are too much of an upscale department store for the Netherlands. They should have had a wider variety of brands that included lower prices. I hope the employees will find new work soon.