Big-box retailers continue their downward spiral amid a competitive and evolving retail industry, with Sears Holdings Corp. (ticker: SHLD) and J.C. Penney Company (JCP) the latest companies to announce layoffs and store closings.
Sears will lay off 130 people at its corporate office as part of a $1 billion cost savings target for 2017.
“This activity is necessary to create a more nimble operating structure capable of driving the company’s strategic transformation forward,” Sears CEO Eddie Lampert wrote in an email to employees that was obtained by U.S. News. “We highly value all of our associates and do not take these decisions lightly. We are committed to providing resources to those who were impacted to help manage their career transition as appropriate and we wish them well in their future endeavors.”
The actions follow the company’s decision to shutter 150 stores — 108 Kmart locations and 42 Sears stores — earlier in 2017. This all comes on the heels of Amazon.com‘s (AMZN) growing dominance in the retail industry.
J.C. Penney announced Friday the closure of 130 to 140 stores, about 13 to 14 percent of its stores in total. It also unveiled a voluntary early retirement program option that approximately 6,000 employees qualify for, reports Reuters.
The company posted a 0.7 percent dip in same-store sales during its holiday quarter. Sears’ same-store sales fell 10.3 percent in the fourth quarter, notes the Chicago Business Journal.
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J.C. Penney, Sears Holding Corp Face Store Closings, Layoffs (JCP) (SHLD) originally appeared on usnews.com
