Macy's to Close 125 Stores and Cut Over 2,000 Jobs

NEW YORK, United States — Macy's Inc said on Tuesday it plans to close 125 of its least productive stores over the next three years and cut more than 2,000 corporate jobs as a part of its cost-savings effort.

The company said it would close stores in lower-tier malls, and explore new off-mall formats, as it looks to tackle plummeting mall traffic in the United States.

The department store chain, which has been struggling to boost store traffic as consumers opt for online shopping, has closed more than 100 stores since 2015 and cut thousands of jobs.

"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," Chief Executive Jeff Gennette said.

The to-be-closed 125 stores currently account for about $1.4 billion in annual sales, the company said.

It also said it expects annual gross cost savings of $1.5 billion by 2022, with $600 million expected in 2020.

It forecast full-year net sales to be between $23.6 billion and $23.9 billion, below analysts' average estimate of $24.36 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company will host its investor day on Wednesday.

By Arunima Kumar, Nivedita Balu; Editors: Shinjini Ganguli