Sears Holdings has laid off 130 people, mostly at its Hoffman Estates headquarters, as part of a larger cost-cutting effort designed to save the money-losing company $1 billion this year.
The jobs were cut from various business units and roles, according to Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite.
He declined to comment on whether more layoffs will follow but confirmed that more changes are coming.
Sears will "continue to take decisive actions to restructure our operations," Brathwaite said, and will continue "to analyze our operating model for greater efficiency beyond today's actions." That means "simplifying" the company structure and bringing "greater consolidation" to both Kmart and Sears, he said.
"This activity is necessary to create a more nimble operating structure capable of driving the company's strategic transformation forward," Lampert wrote in the email obtained by Business Insider. "We highly value all of our associates and do not take these decisions lightly."
Brathwaite declined to specify the number of corporate workers who remain employed at Sears headquarters, but he said it remains above the 4,250 people it needs to maintain to keep its tax breaks under the state EDGE program. Under its 2011 agreement with the state, Sears received 15 years in property tax breaks and state income tax credits worth $15 million a year for a decade.
Sears laid off 115 workers in early 2015 and another 250 last year.