HBC shares tumble after company announces jobs cuts, weaker earnings

Hudson's Bay Co. shares traded down more than 10 per cent on Friday,a day after the company released disappointing quarterly earnings and announced it is cutting about 2,000 jobs.

CEO Jerry Storch told analysts in a conference call Friday that the company's transformation plan is intended to put HBC ahead and stay ahead of rapid industry trends, which include a shift from in-store to online shopping.

• Hudson's Bay Company cutting 2,000 jobs amid reorganization

The company released its first-quarter results after markets closed Thursday and performed worse than analysts anticipated in a number of categories, including revenue and earnings per share.

RBC Capital Markets analysts Sabahat Khan and Irene Nattel wrote in a note that they expected HBC's shares to be weak Friday.

The company's shares fell $1.10 to close at $8.61 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.