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TORONTO — Loblaw Cos. is making investments in digital and e-commerce services with savings it plans to net from terminating 500 jobs, though the company did not speculate on how much it would save.
The cuts, which the Canadian food and drug retailer announced last month, will affect employees within the executive and management ranks, while store-level employees will remain safe, according to Kevin Groh, Loblaw vice president of corporate affairs and communication.
The cuts darken the country’s already gloomy retail landscape, which has been hurt by online businesses that have cut into revenue at traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
Illustrating the flagging Canadian retail sector, Sears Canada lost 12,000 jobs after a court issued approval for the company to liquidate, and grocery retailer Metro Inc. recently announced it will be cutting 180 full-time and 100 part-time jobs in an attempt to modernize and automate part of its distribution network.
“The future is digital, and that’s not lost on us, the need to make significant investment in omnichannel and e-commerce,” Groh stated.
