Amarillo’s JCPenny May Be Closing

JCPenny announced today that it will be closing down 130-140 of its stores June.

The company did not say how many jobs would be lost in the store closures.  However, he company is currently offering early retirement programs to 6,000 of its current employees. Those employees that will be losing their jobs will receive separation benefits.

The company is trying to get back to turning a profit and by closing these stores they are hoping to regain the profitability.

They are hoping to be able to once again compete with online retailers.

According to Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of JCPenney

"We believe closing stores will also allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers. Maintaining a large store base gives us a competitive advantage in the evolving retail landscape since our physical stores are a destination for personalized beauty offerings, a broad array of special sizes, affordable private brands and quality home goods and services. It is essential to retain those locations that present the best expression of the JCPenney brand and function as a seamless extension of the omnichannel experience through online order fulfillment, same-day pick up, exchanges and returns,”

Not only will they be closing down close to 140 of their stores they will be closing two of their distribution centers.

So what does that mean for Amarillo's JCPenny located in Westgate Mall?  As of this time, we do not know if Amarillo has made the list of closures.  They will release a full list of store closures in March.