Laid off from Saks Global.
Saks Global bought Neiman Marcus for $2.7 billion, filed for bankruptcy within fourteen months, and suspended severance payments to people it had already laid off. It left Chapter 11 in June 2026 as Exemplar Luxury Group, with 33 filings in our tracker across 2025 and 2026.
At a glance
What's known about Saks Global severance and layoffs
- January 13, 2026 · Chapter 11 petition date
- June 26, 2026 · Plan effective date
- About 640 roles, 16% · Corporate cut, April 2026
- More than 1,200 roles · March 2026 store and facility filings
- 33 · WARN filings since 2025, our tracker
- Suspended, now bankruptcy claims · Pre-bankruptcy severance
- April 24, 2026, now passed · General claims bar date
- Two, 590 jobs · Pennsylvania distribution centers closed
Recent Saks Global layoffs
Saks Global left Chapter 11 in June 2026 as Exemplar Luxury Group
The reorganization plan took effect on June 26, 2026, and the parent came out of the case renamed Exemplar Luxury Group while the stores kept their own names. The corporate round before it took 16% of corporate teams on April 30. Both claim deadlines in the case have passed.
Previous rounds
Saks Global layoff history
The debt came first. Saks bought Neiman Marcus for $2.7 billion in 2024 in a deal financed heavily with borrowing, and went into court with about $3.4 billion on the books. Vendors felt it before employees did. CNBC reported that the company moved to 90-day payment terms, pushed brands away, stopped paying suppliers again, and saw assortment and sales dip as a result, and the data firm Creditsafe measured its bills landing 30 to 41 days beyond terms through 2025 against an industry norm near nine.
Saks Global Enterprises and 112 affiliated debtors filed Chapter 11 petitions on January 13, 2026 in the Southern District of Texas, and for anyone already let go that date drew a line. The company said on the record that bankruptcy law required it to suspend all severance payments owed to former employees under agreements signed before January 13, and a January 22 email told people the balances would be handled inside the case. One former photo studio worker in Pennsylvania, in an account given anonymously to Modern Retail, described three months of severance stopping on less than a day's notice and said most of the balance is still owed.
The cuts ran through the stores and the distribution network more than the head office. Our tracker holds 33 filings covering 2,619 jobs since the start of 2025 under Saks entity names and 55 all-time, and only one of those 33 predates 2026, the 446-job Tennessee fulfillment center row from April 2025. March 2026 brought WARN notices for more than 1,200 jobs at 15 closing locations. Two Pennsylvania distribution centers went the same way, 590 jobs at Wilkes Barre and Pottsville, neither of them unionized. The April corporate round, around 640 jobs, left stores and distribution centers alone.
The company exited Chapter 11 faster than it fell into it. The court confirmed the plans on June 5, 2026, the off-price entities liquidated on June 15, and the reorganization took effect on June 26, leaving the parent renamed Exemplar Luxury Group with debt near $840 million. CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck called the approval an incredible achievement, and CFO Brandy Richardson said the company had already achieved substantial cost savings through the optimization of its footprint, operations and organization. The banners kept their names, so a reference check may still turn up Saks while the parent behind it reads Exemplar.
Losing money you were promised and then being told to get in line behind everyone else for the rest is a miserable spot to sit in. If Saks owes you severance, the case is where that money sits now rather than the company. Both deadlines have gone by, the general one on April 24, 2026, so the move worth making is to confirm with the claims agent what was recorded under your name and where it stands. Pennsylvania, New York and Texas carry most of these filings, and our tracker shows which site and which date your notice belongs to.
Reporting on previous Saks Global layoff rounds
April 2026 · Around 640 corporate jobs by a figure a source gave the Wall Street Journal, confirmed on April 30 as 16% of corporate teams and under 4% of total headcount, with stores and distribution centers outside it
Terms not published. A spokesperson said affected employees would receive unspecified assistance.
March 2026 · WARN notices covering more than 1,200 jobs at 15 closing locations, 12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and three Neiman Marcus stores, with separations set between May 6 and May 31
February and March 2026, Pennsylvania · Two distribution centers closed permanently, 590 jobs, 155 at Wilkes Barre noticed on February 10 and 435 at Pottsville noticed on March 3
Terms not published. Neither site was unionized, and neither letter gave employees bumping rights.
2025, pre-bankruptcy · 5% of corporate staff in February and 550 more jobs two months later, then the Tennessee fulfillment center, about 450 jobs by its April WARN letter and 446 in our tracker
Packages were issued, then the company suspended all severance owed to former employees once it filed. Those balances became claims in the case.
How Saks Global's layoffs compare to other companies
The severance suspension is the lesson that outlives this bankruptcy. A package being paid in installments is an unsecured promise, and when Chapter 11 arrived, people terminated months earlier watched remaining payments stop mid-stream. Lump-sum negotiation exists for exactly this scenario.
What to do after being laid off from Saks Global
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Saks Global's biggest hubs: New York, Texas, Pennsylvania. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Saks Global's hub states run: New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
Saks Global layoff and severance questions
Will laid-off Saks and Neiman Marcus workers get their severance?
Severance owed from before the January 13, 2026 filing was suspended by the company, and the unpaid balances became claims in the case. Terms weren't published for the March or April 2026 rounds. If you had a package running when the filing landed, the claims agent is the one who can tell you what was recorded under your name and where that claim stands.
How do I file a claim for unpaid Saks severance?
Through Stretto, the claims agent for the case, on the proof-of-claim form submitted electronically or mailed to its claims-processing address. The general bar date was April 24, 2026 and the government bar date July 13, 2026, so both have gone by. Nothing in the reporting we track says how a claim filed after them is handled, so ask the claims agent where yours stands and get a bankruptcy lawyer's read if the balance is worth it. Filed claims are public, so redact all but the last four digits of any Social Security or account number.
Which stores closed in the Saks Global bankruptcy?
Eighteen full-line Saks Fifth Avenue stores went, the gap between the 33 trading before the filing and the 15 kept afterward. Neiman Marcus closed three locations plus its downtown Dallas store, about 70 Saks Off 5th stores closed with roughly a dozen held open to clear inventory, and the five Last Call stores shut. Around 100 closures in all left 49 stores across the three luxury banners.
Is Saks Global still in business after the bankruptcy?
Yes, under a new parent name. The reorganization plan took effect on June 26, 2026 and the company left Chapter 11 as Exemplar Luxury Group, carrying about $840 million of debt against the $3.4 billion it filed with. Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman kept their own names on the stores, so your separation paperwork may say Saks while the parent behind it now reads Exemplar.
Which Saks distribution centers closed in Pennsylvania?
Two, accounting for 590 jobs between them. Wilkes Barre was noticed on February 10 for 155 employees with layoffs starting April 11, and Pottsville was noticed on March 3 for 435 employees with separations running May 3 through May 31. The letters recorded that these employees had no union behind them and no bumping rights, which means nobody could claim a colleague's job to stay on.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from Saks Global?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Saks Global's biggest U.S. hubs are New York, Texas, Pennsylvania. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at Saks Global?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at Saks Global?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Saks Global?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.