P.M. BRIEFING : Sears Intends to Eliminate Thousands of Jobs, Report Says

Sears, Roebuck & Co. plans to eliminate thousands of jobs in coming months to help cut costs and improve profits, it was reported today. Sears would not confirm the report.

The move, involving administrative and retail employees, is expected to result in annual savings of more than $100 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It cited an unidentified person familiar with the plan.

According to the report, jobs to be eliminated include administrative staff positions at Sears’ headquarters as well as non-selling positions at the retailer’s 850 U.S. stores.

The source said Sears has not determined how many of its 337,000 U.S. merchandising employees will go.

But, the newspaper said, the company hopes to reduce corporate overhead by combining its 600-member corporate staff with the merchandise group headquarters staff.