Remote work entrenched at Staples

Layoffs of Staples employees in Nova Scotia and the closure of the company’s call centre in Lower Sackville are not related, said a spokesman. Chris Tjaden, a Staples senior manager located in Delaware, said via email that Staples will close its facility on Jan. 2, with the lease on the building up for renewal in June. “The company made the decision to not renew the lease for our Halifax office, based on the low number of in-office employees currently based in Halifax,” Tjaden wrote. “As part of this, we will transition all local Staples teams to work fully remote ahead of the Jan. 2 closure date, so that the company can begin getting the building ready for a new tenant. It’s important to note that Staples still maintains a large population of associates that will now work remotely in the Halifax area, and we remain a premier employer in Canada.” Tjaden said no jobs will be lost due to the closure of the office, and that the “vast majority” of employees here have “been working remotely since before the pandemic and have continued to work remotely.” He said the approximately 20 people who have been working on-site will transition to remote work arrangements. However, Staples, Inc. is making changes “across the enterprise to drive profitable revenue growth and position Staples to deliver for customers in ways that our competitors cannot match.” And those changes, not described, will mean job losses, and Staples doesn’t say how many jobs that is. “This decision is separate and unrelated to the building closure… We remain a premier employer and will continue to support remote work for approximately 500 Halifax employees.”