Loblaw Plans 700 Corporate Layoffs

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Loblaw Cos. here on Tuesday said it would lay off approximately 700 jobs at its corporate headquarters here over the next three weeks.

The workforce reduction will allow the company to reduce expenses and provide for investments to enhance the customer proposition, the company said in a statement. Loblaw said it would take a one-time charge of $60.8 million (U.S.) reflecting the anticipated costs of the planned reductions.

"We're managing costs where it makes sense by reducing administrative expense. We will continue to invest in driving the business forward by devoting more resources to enhance the customer proposition," Vicente Trius, Loblaw’s president, said in a statement.

Loblaw, which operates and franchises more than 1,000 stores across Canada and employs more than 135,000 people, last week had been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers by Mediacorp Canada.