On Thursday, Macy’s announced its intentions to shutter 100 stores, which will cause the loss of an undisclosed number of jobs.
It is unclear as to exactly which locations will close, although they will be underperforming stores. The affected stores are expected to cease operations by early 2017.
The closing stores represent almost 15 percent of the total number of current Macy’s locations, and contribute about four percent of total revenue.
Macy’s is just one of many physical retailers struggling as of late. It is believed that online retailers like Amazon have contributed to the epidemic that retail stores have suffered.
In January, Walmart announced plans to close 269 stores this year. They have tried to further fend off online competitors through their $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com.
According to data from Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, 44,000 retail workers have been laid off since the beginning of the year. Walmart alone let go of 16,000 workers during this period.
Macy’s has experienced six straight quarters of declines in revenue, although the decline during the most recent quarter wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Upon news of the store closures, Macy’s stock shot up by 16 percent.
By closing underperforming stores, Macy’s hopes that they can refocus on their more prosperous locations. They believe that they’ll be able to better their existing stores by improving their employee talent base, while also investing in new technology.
For employees who are laid off, Macy’s may provide replacement jobs at remaining locations, along with severance benefits.
