Estimated 4,700 Workers May Be Cut in First Round of Sears, Kmart Closures
Roughly 4,700 employees could lose their jobs in the first round of Sears and Kmart store closures announced Thursday.
Sears Holdings Corp., which owns the Sears and Kmart chains, released a list of the first 79 stores to be shut down by the struggling retailer. In all, the company plans to shutter 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores.
Sears Holdings didn't provide an estimate of how many workers will be cut as a result of the 79 store closures. However, the retailer did say that a typical store on the closure list employs 40 to 80 people. At 60 employees per store (the middle point between 40 and 80), that would mean a loss of more than 4,700 jobs — assuming that no workers transfer to other stores.
Which state will lose the most jobs in the first round of Sears and Kmart store shutdowns? It most likely will be Florida, where 11 of the 79 stores set to close are located. The 79 stores scheduled to be shut down are in 25 states.
Altogether, the retailer has more than 3,500 Sears and Kmart stores.
Aside from Florida, states where Sears or Kmart stores are targeted for closure and the number of locations to be lost are:
• Georgia — Six.
• Michigan — Six.
• Ohio — Six.
• Minnesota — Four.
• North Carolina — Four.
• Tennessee — Four.
• Alabama — Three.
• California — Three.
• Colorado — Three.
• Indiana — Three.
• Kentucky — Three.
• Mississippi — Three.
• Virginia — Three.
• Iowa — Two.
• Missouri — Two.
• New Hampshire — Two.
• Pennsylvania — Two.
• Washington — Two.
• Wisconsin — Two.
• Idaho — One.
• Kansas — One.
• Maryland — One.
• Oregon — One.
• South Carolina — One.
To see the detailed list of store closures, visit http://www.searsmedia.com/tools/122711_close.pdf.
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