245 lose jobs in Saint John as Sears quietly closes call centre

Without much noise or fanfare, the Sears Canada call centre in Saint John had its last day this week, shutting its doors and putting an end to a promised 350 new jobs.

CBC News visited the centre Thursday only to find an empty office and a sign from arecent job fair for employees whose Sears careers proved to be short-lived.

• Sears promises 350 jobs in new Saint John call centre
• Sears enters final days, staff feel relief and sorrow
• Sears liquidation could put over 200 New Brunswickers out of work

An individual who would not identify herself at the site confirmed the closure but referred all other inquiries to upper management.

A Sears executive says the Saint John centrehad hired 245 employees before closing. The company promised a workforce of350when the callcentre was announced earlier this year.

"Employees will be paid till their last day worked plus any accrued vacation not taken," said Vince Power, corporate communications for the company.

"We were very pleased with the 245 associates that we hired at Saint John and we thank them for the excellent service they provided to Canadians in the brief time we operated there."

Former employee Brenda Chamberlain said the company tried tohelp employees in the end.

And with the job fair the company held, many are likely to jump into new opportunities right away.

"Gotta say they did what they could do for us to make it easier," the single motherwrote over Facebook.

"Lots of tears shed when they closed."

The closure wasn't unexpected, with an Ontario Superior Court judge approving a request by Sears Canada in mid-October to liquidate its remaining retail stores.

The Edmundston call centre, which promised to bring 180 jobs to the province, had its last day Wednesday.