Macy's to close 125 stores, cut 2,000 corporate jobs in next three years

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Macy's announced Tuesday that it plans to close 125 stores throughout the next three years.

The department store said it will close stores in "lower tier malls" -- including about 30 already in the process of closing -- that account for $1.4 billion in annual sales, while focusing on growth of its remaining stores and exploring new "off-mall" formats.

It also plans to cut about 2,000 corporate jobs, establish a single corporate headquarters and relocate its online headquarters from San Francisco to New York City.

"We will focus our resources on the healthy parts of our business, directly address the unhealthy parts of the business and explore new revenue streams," Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette said.

Macy's expects the moves to generate annual gross savings of about $1.5 billion by the end of 2022.

The restructuring will cost between $450 million and $490 million, the majority of which would be recorded in 2019.

Macy's said it plans to release its fourth-quarter sales and earnings on Feb. 25 and 2020 will be a "transition year" during which it expects revenues to fall because of store closures.