Thread regarding Sears layoffs

If you need any more proof of how out of touch with reality Fast Eddie is, here is a jaw dropper..

"We don't need more customers. We have all the customers we could possibly want."

@NcGPo1o-1lav I have asked for a pay increase and manager doesn't even acknowledge it. They always give excuses and I believe the store manager can actually give a pay increase if they wanted, but that comes into favoritism. My lead does so much (she is a tool, but I think looks are what pretty much say no to getting a raise) yet makes the same as me thats just so unfair she doesnt get a raise and does so much.

Sears is all talk they try to get into your head work harder, but their will not be incentives. Hell their was a time (id say 3 to 4 years ago) when I started our store was breaking records yet we all started to wonder for ourselfs why arent we seeing the benefits no pay increases yet the store was very profitable. So what happens? You stop trying hard because they aren't offering an incentive. Now you can see the effect a lot of good workers have left you get new people they are usually bad, or dont stick around long enough because company offers no future. Now I have seen our numbers sunk because not offering any benefits for making your store profitible.

1zfp-- What you describe is called a conflict of interest and unlawful conveyance. You cannot use one business which you control to lend money to another business which you control and then use the assets of company #2 Sears to pay the loan from company #1 ESL. Highly illegal and Eddie is pushing the limits of legality now. There will be no more loans just bankruptcy.

To the person who said that Pharmacies are expensive... you are correct, but if you look at the financial of most of the stores with pharmacies it is the pharmacies that make at least 10-20% of the sales of a store. Pharmacies make money. They are closing pharmacies because alot of state require you to tell the pharmacy customers 30-45 days in advance of a store closing so they can transfer their precriptions to another store and to get all the drugs out of the store before liqidation.

If SHC is closing pharmacies then they are getting ready to shut the whole thing down.

@2dun; Yeah, I've heard a lot of thinly veiled threats going around on conference calls. The walls are paper thin, so when the hosting manager tells everyone to make sure no hourly associates are around, it doesn't really do a bit of good. They want to cut payrolls down by another third from already unworkable levels. They promise more store closures if managers fail to abide by their budgets.

1lav- We have asked for raises, there is no budget. We can't even get toilet paper and hand soap for our bathrooms because it is not in the budget. And no the store manager do not control the payroll budget, they control the amount of hours employees can get within the allotted payroll for the week. Every week the payroll changes according to sales.

@NcGPo1o-1fhq How can you even thank EL the guy just looks up to himself. Do research read what others post. He keeps lending money as long as their are assets he will get his money back if the ship sinks. He doesn't care about anyone, but himself.

If he really wanted the best for the company when Sears was actually profiting and an emerging company was starting to emerge what do you do? Innovate! You try to better the company and try to stay on top. Yet Sears didn't innovate and if they did they did it a little to late. Their is a lot of programs that they still use that are hella dated and the new stuff is very buggy if you want to improve the flow of the company you need better equipment you invest in it!

Their could of been so many things they could of done to make this company be in par with the big giants, but the sleeping giant didn't try to innovate in anyway. You go to work their is no motivation, the technology s---s its dated, cuts and more cuts under lower management (hours, benefits, commission) their is no friendly management I could keep going and going, but its just to late for Mr. EL since he will come up richer screwing the bottom barrel and not getting affected if it goes BK all he cares is how much it can actually milk.

Business writers write about business, good and bad. They write so that people can make an informed decision about investing in a business. For the most part they do not have skin in the game and if they did they need to disclose that in their article. You sound as paranoid as Eddie in thinking everyone is out to get Sears.

If the sales have gone down year after year for over 10 years and the stock price has fallen over 90% since Eddie bought it how is that any writers fault? Just to get a clue as to how most people feel about Sears go onto their Facebook page or on the corporate site and see the complaints and bad customer service people are getting. Or just for fun ask anyone under the age of 50 the last time they went into Sears or Kmart to buy something.

Just think of how much bad press and protest Wal-Mart gets yet their stock is almost at a 52 week high and they are expanding their business.

I am not saying Sears is a great company or has been since the 70s or 80s. I have done well, and that is why I have been here so long. I have worked for people who were good to me over the years as i worked hard. I am just saying what is happening with the people as exploited by the media isnt good. I care about the people. There are lots of us who have worked hard all these years. I knew when I started in the 90s that things were shaky then with Sears, and I came into this with eyes open. I stay because I generally like the people I work with and for me it is a good paying job that I enjoy as best as anyone can enjoy a job. It makes me sad to hear that the stores are so unhappy.

Now the poor pensioners are going to get robbed by Eddie because he stole all the RE and siphoned off interest payments for years. Now about to steal the remaining RE through secured debt in bk. All the cash lit on fire with buybacks that could have completely funded the pension plan down the drain. Lampert you are a disgusting piece of subhuman trash.

For Eddie to place the blame for his failures on the pension plan is nonsensical. He was well aware of the pension plan and its obligations when he acquired Sears. If the pension plan had actually been an impediment to his business strategy, then he would have walked away. The fact that he vigorously pursued the acquisition of Sears proves that the pension plan was not a serious concern. The only other explanation would be that he was such a dunce that he failed to comprehend the gravity of the pension plan when he made his decision.

2hbl - If Sears was such a great company they would let the results speak for themselves - not spend time on the clock pumping on social media to try to "correct the record". I'm eagerly awaiting you defending the results over the last 10 years. Name one company that has survived a similar deterioration in EVERY aspect of their business. There is nothing to like with this company. I'll be waiting.

Yes but how many people has the media talked to, and why dont they take a more positive approach to their articles. If they cared about any of the employees, they would write their articles differently which a few have.

Most of the media doesnt care about us. They just want the dirt. So most are stuck in a vicious cycle here as they think they are doing the right thing by talking to the media, but they just hurt themselves. If you dont like something the best thing is to keep your dignity and walk away from the situation not get caught up in the drama. Of course I guess who am I to talk as I get s---ed into this too as it is all so ridiculous. I feel like we are writing for the National Enquirer here...this is all so silly.

izpf- Just so you can get a clue. The loans that Eddie has given to the company are secured by assests. Mostly real estate and inventory. THis means that if they file bankruptcy that he will get paid before any shareholder or vendor. To put it another way: If they go bankrupt he will get whatever real estate to meet his loan and also he will get any money from selling inventory in liquidation.

Also, he can't blame the pension fund because that is part of doing business. He also can't blame the media because the only report on the financials that are reported and what they see at store level and what employees report to them. All which is true.

Once again I don't understand why some think there is some underlying grand scheme that EL has.

Why does everything have to be "EL against the common man?" We should just admit the guy is super wealthy, we aren't, and we have to work every day at Sears or elsewhere and that's that. No need to dislike the guy. He worked hard. No need to tarnish his name. He tried as many others tried before him.

I thank him for the last 10-12 years I have had a job at Sears Holdings as I think without some of his "crazy" ideas we might not have still been in business. I don't think he is unreasonable with the upper level executives. I think he is just expecting a lot of them time wise. Old Sears was much less intense that today. EL expects 24/7 from the guys he is paying big bucks, and he should. Those top executives make CRAZY huge money....money you/I will never see. They should be "on call" for EL.

Poster: @NcGPo1o-1zfp

"you would know that Eddie (through his ESL affiliates) owns $216 million of that $500 million loan coming due in July."

Whether its $1 dollar, $216 mill dollars, or $500 mill dollars

$500 MILLION DOLLARS is due to paid to someone

=====> Cascade Investment has funded $125 million of a $500 million loan that Sears raised by using about 20 of its mortgaged properties as collateral, the retailer said Friday in a statement. Another $125 million for the loan maturing in July 2017 was provided by ESL Investments, which is controlled by Lampert.

Sears said it already drew the $250 million that was financed by Cascade and ESL. The two investment firms will provide some or all of the next $250 million available on the loan facility that isn’t syndicated to other loan investors, according to the statement. <=====

Cascade gonna want their money, other syndicated investors gonna want their money, NO reason why ESL affliates wouldn't want their share of da' money - even if loan re-negotiated Sears still gonna have $500 mill outstanding so nothing changes as they STILL gotta come up with $500 mill dollar

Thank goodness some rational people started posting their opinions of Eddie's presentation on this thread. After reading all the posts from his adoring fans I was beginning to believe that Eddie had an epiphany and was getting serious about turning this company around. Turns out it was just the same old routine of Eddie playing the blame game and being obtuse.

Refinancing a deal with himself guarantees he will have fraudulent conveyance lawsuits to deal with from every creditor imaginable. The further he goes down this path of using his conflicts of interest for personal financial gain the easier it is for the lawyers of creditors and suppliers to make a case against him.

To the poster who wrote this:

"He didn't answer the bankruptcy question. He didn't answer any question he was asked. He blamed our financial situation on the pension fund, and then repeated what he said to us, word for word, in the Chicago Business Journal in the afternoon. There's a $500 million loan that comes due mid July. I don't believe anything ESL says until we make it into August without filing for bankruptcy."

If you checked your facts before you wrote this, you would know that Eddie (through his ESL affiliates) owns $216 million of that $500 million loan coming due in July. Something tells me he'll be able to make a deal with himself and avoid bankruptcy and the public court system. Just a hunch...

"We don't need more customers". Oh wait why did he call them customers instead of "members"? "Better than Target" - suuuuure Mr. Mentally Ill CEO. Bunch of empty talk as usual with zero talk of numbers or actual strategy. The "media's fault" - uh huh the media definitely lost the money for you dope.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwibyd3L9OXTAhUKJiYKHcVRBGQQFggKMAA&url=%2Famp%2Fs%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fpaularosenblum%2F2017%2F05%2F10%2Fsears-ceo-our-companys-troubles-are-everyones-fault-but-mine%2Famp%2F&usg=AFQjCNFN6gX23HLUl4P3ciSyzochIig5OA

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwj19b6S9OXTAhXDWSYKHfhPDTEQFggKMAA&url=%2Famp%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fct-sears-ceo-edward-lampert-interview-0510-biz-20170509-story%2Camp.html&usg=AFQjCNF-Go5AJoDSYYr_ZOiyQv1ie6VCSQ

Eddie blames bad press and the pension plan for SHLD demise when the douche should look in mirror for the true reason this company will be BK this year.

I don't understand why some think everything EL says is BS? Maybe the truth is we work for a company that isn't doing well....hasn't done well in a while. We work for a company that has been around forever so yes we have pension obligations. We work for a company with massively over sized stores. He is pushing the credit card because years ago we used to make a ton of money when we owned our Sears card. I seriously don't know why everyone is so upset with him. The reality is that we all work here. We can help make or break our company every day. For those in the stores, I get it. It's awful if you haven't gotten raises in years. Have you asked your store managers why? Do they control their own payroll? Ask them again. Ask them what it will take for you to get a raise. Ask your market leader. We are hiring for customer service jobs here in HE.

Can someone post the transcript for us?

I need to see a video because I read the transcript and the way some of y'all feeling about it being some hope im just not seeing it. So he's blaming it on a pension fund that he should have and could have been controlling. He never answered the question about filling for bankruptcy just tipped toed around the question about the pension fund. Just reading it and looking at the words Eddie used it sounded like pure BS. He has 7 weeks to keep the game going after that free game.

The fact is that we lose money every day, before any pension obligation. We started watching money bleed out in 2009...I wonder what program started in 2009???

I don't think he was "blaming" anything or anyone....just stating the facts. This is a group effort not everything lies on Eddie's shoulders. We all need to do our jobs too and support our company and not "bad mouth" where we work.

He didn't answer the bankruptcy question. He didn't answer any question he was asked. He blamed our financial situation on the pension fund, and then repeated what he said to us, word for word, in the Chicago Business Journal in the afternoon. There's a $500 million loan that comes due mid July. I don't believe anything ESL says until we make it into August without filing for bankruptcy.

Wow it is interesting how each person interprets the same thing. I interpreted the comment about the pharmacies to be he highly values them and there are some that make money and he will keep those open. Obviously if something doesnt make money the company doesnt have the luxury to keep it open. I liked his openness. I wish there had been time for more questions.

I'll give EL one thing, he does not sugar coat and was direct. I walked away knowing that if SHC is not profitable than the direction is clear.. more closings. The one area EL was very clear about was Pharmacy! "Pharmacists are expensive, and the business is heavily regulated. Might have a pharmacy partner for SYW". Bye, Bye KMart Pharmacy!!

it was much much better than any of the past events.

it was more open and less arrogant.

some of it seemed staged but better nonetheless.

good going.

" first question was 'is the company going to go into bankruptcy' he spoke about that for quite a bit. "

So did anyone walk away with the warm & fuzzies that the answer was a resounding NO

The shareholder meeting is tomorrow.

I worked for Kmart through their bankruptcy. They continued to tell us everything was fine and we weren't going bankrupt right up to the moment they were at the courthouse filing bko. Can you trust Eddie? He just needs everyone to continue working hard while he gets all his ducks in a row.

The first question was 'is the company going to go into bankruptcy' he spoke about that for quite a bit. Bruce made an appearance at the end which was also surprising to see. Say what and think what you want but I do respect thhem confronting the mob and not avoiding the tough questions which could be easy to do, there was the usual sales pitch for the credit card which seemed a little desperate but I'm used to that by now, the audience asked some silly questions.

Can you fill us in with some details please?

can anyone put a copy on youtube?

As long as Leena Munjal is at the helm providing her vision and insightful strategic thinking everything will be A-Okay!!

Wow that's too bad that you couldn't see it in your store. There is a link that your store manager should be providing to you. It was very good....very down to earth and honest.

We had no provision in my store to see it. No one mentioned it. I would have liked to hear it so any feedback is appreciated.