The departure of Sears from the Canadian market may be leaving thousands of people without jobs or severance pay, but the company is reportedly still paying a whopping $2.8 million in retention bonuses to 36 of its top executives as business winds down.

After entering creditor protection in June, Sears announced plans to pay up to $7.6 million to 43 senior managers and executives as a way to keep these people with the company and help it steer through the restructuring process. Sears has already paid out $3.7 million of the total amount to a few people who have since quit working for the company.

On Wednesday, an Ontario judge approved Sears' request to lower the previous amount of $7.6 million by $1.1 million. The company sought the reduction following recent a string of recent departures that narrows the pool of eligible execs from 43 to 36.

According to court documents, the 36 people receiving the bonuses are considered "essential" to Sears' operations as they begin liquidating their remaining 130 stores over the coming weeks.

While the original amount has been reduced, former employees are finding little solace and think the retailer should not be paying out so much cash to executives who failed to save the company. By the time the last Sears store closes its doors in January 2018, as many as 16,000 people will have lost their job, with the vast majority having received no severance pay. And many former customers who relied on the retailer for their appliances, are also now finding themselves out of hundreds of dollars after the company announced on Monday that it will no longer honour any protection plans or extended warranties.

Do you think Sears executives deserve bonuses despite the company's failure? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.