Sears laying off 100 at headquarters

Sears Holdings Corp., which won approval of a state tax break, is laying off 100 employees from a variety of departments at its Hoffman Estates headquarters.

The layoffs will not endanger the troubled retailer’s $150 million payroll tax credit that the Illinois Legislature approved late last year, said spokesman Chris Brathwaite.

The new tax credit, approved in December and which takes effect in 2013, requires a minimum 4,250 employees at Sears headquarters, and 6,000 will work there after Thursday’s layoff, Brathwaite said.

“If we don’t meet our obligations, we receive no benefits,” Brathwaite said.