Sears laid off 130 employees at its corporate offices on Thursday as the company struggles to stay afloat after a dismal holiday quarter.

Sears CEO Eddie Lampert announced the layoffs in an email sent to corporate employees on Thursday afternoon.

He said the layoffs are part of a $1 billion cost-cutting plan that he outlined earlier this month, according to a copy of the email obtained by Business Insider.

"This activity is necessary to create a more nimble operating structure capable of driving the company's strategic transformation forward," Lampert wrote in the email. "We highly value all of our associates and do not take these decisions lightly."

Sears, which has laid off corporate employees around this time of year for the past several years, had about 4,850 employees and 800 contract workers at its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, last year, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

On employee message boards, people who said they worked for Sears corporate said there were "lots of tears and people leaving" on Thursday. Many said they saw added security at building entrances.

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Employees had speculated for weeks that layoffs were coming. Nerves flared when one person discovered through the company's internal calendar that more than 30 rooms were simultaneously booked on the corporate campus for several hours on Thursday for "strategy sessions." That information was shared on a message board and led many people to think job losses were on the horizon.

Sears did not respond to requests for comment on the layoffs.

Lampert earlier this month unveiled a plan for cutting costs. He said the company would save from the closure of 150 Sears and Kmart stores over the next couple of months, as well as from other actions, such as reducing corporate overhead and more closely integrating Sears and Kmart operations.

At the same time, the company disclosed that revenue plunged 16%, to $6.1 billion, for the fourth quarter, which includes the critical holiday season, and net losses widened by up to $635 million from $580 million in the period last year.

Sales at stores open at least a year plunged 10.3%, including an 8% decline at Kmart stores and a 12.3% decline at Sears US stores.

For the full year, revenue is expected to fall 12% from last year, to $22.1 billion.

Sears has been shutting stores and selling off assets to stem losses and repay debt as it suffers a protracted decline in its business. The scale of its losses has analysts speculating that the company could file for bankruptcy, and some suppliers have cut back on shipments.

Here's Lampert's email to employees on Thursday:

Eddie Lampert email More

Eddie Lampert email More

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