BUSINESS MEMO: SEARS CANADA LOSSES MOUNT

Sears Canada Inc., with losses mounting, is cutting 1,200 jobs or 3 percent of its work force as part of its ongoing effort to reduce costs.

The job cuts announced last week will come in distribution and administration jobs and in the Montreal and Regina, Saskatchewan, warehouses, which will close.

Sears Canada said the moves will generate savings of at least $50 million a year, most of which will be used for store improvements.

For the second quarter ended June 29, Sears Canada lost 8.6 million Canadian dollars ($6.3 million), significantly worse than last year's second-quarter loss of 1.3 million Canadian dollars.

Sears Canada is a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co., based in Hoffman Estates, Ill.