The company is the largest private employer in the world with 2.3 million employees (as of 12/2016). Transform SR LLC in Round Rock is permanently closing a Sears call center at 1300 Louis Henna Blvd., according to an Oct. 13 WARN letter the business sent to … Lampert and his hedge fund formed a new company, Transform Holdco, to buy most of Sears’ remaining assets, including 425 stores, last year. Another gloomy report on Chicago home values. While Sears could not be reached for comment on this latest moves it appears that those commitments continue to be breached and that whatever is left of Sears may in fact be on its last legs. The iconic Hoffman Estates-based retailer sought bankruptcy protection in October 2018 and has continued to struggle since its sale to Transform. A source with knowledge of the situation said it was fewer than 300 jobs and that the cuts took place at headquarters and other field offices. After all Sears has been through, you’d think it couldn’t get any worse. Worse, the 2011 package reportedly allows Sears to shrink by another 1,750 jobs: with 6,000 remaining HQ employees, the deal allows the company to keep collecting the tax breaks as long as 4,250 employees remain. More layoffs, more store closings. Unequal economic development, why secretive deals must end and the trouble with Opportunity Zones, Boeing Moves More Jobs from Washington State to South Carolina, Reimagining economic development: The case for great schools.

The business of retailing is my specialty...and boy is it special.

He’s 82, but the owner of Old Fashioned Donuts in Roseland has no plans to stop making the best apple fritters in Chicago, As Evanston stares down major budget deficit, the town’s financial ties to Northwestern University become even more apparent, Waukegan police shooting victim says she begged for their lives: ‘Please don’t shoot, we have a baby’; Rev. Get the best business coverage in Chicago, from breaking news to razor-sharp analysis, in print and online. Lori Lightfoot is ready for her close-up—but is Chicago? The best source in Chicago for exclusive commercial real estate news. Tracking Subsidies, Most are trying to make light of the Sears layoff news, emphasizing the jobs that remain. Back in September, the company eliminated 250 jobs at the corporate headquarters but said the Hoffman Estates offices would not be closed or relocated. But taxpayers would be far better served if public officials said to the company: we demand that you use the subsidies we are giving you to vigorously reinvest in your stores, hire more executives with retail expertise, stabilize your market share and secure Illinois jobs.

Monday-Thursday. Everything about these two episodes demonstrates what is wrong with economic development in America today.

To enable the subsidy, the state had to pervert its tax increment financing (TIF) law to allow “greenfield TIFs,” a tax-revenue problem that plagues the state today, as TIF diverts more than $1.2 billion from public services a year. What was particularly telling was the suddenness of the move. This supplier, in the home furnishings area, said after these layoffs the entire merchandising staff for the home area for Sears had been reduced to four buyers and one divisional merchandise manager. About 150 of the employees affected in the latest round of job cuts … A key vendor, who wished not to be identified because the company still does business with Sears – reported that buyers at the company said 80% of the workforce at Sears Hoffman Estates, IL corporate offices had been laid off last night.

So far for the year, Sears plans to close 270 stores — well more than twice what fellow department store retailer Macy’s said it would close in its own … Click here to get the full experience on your screen.