Sears to cut 250 jobs and close some stores

Sears Holdings Corp. announces shedding of about 250 jobs nationwide this week as it struggles to maintain the declining earnings. The company employs more than 275,000 people in the U.S. The majority of the layoffs will be outside of Illinois. The decline was due to weak sales and bigger discount rate. They also plan to close a host of stores, including the Sears Hardware locations in Schaumburg and Lemont. They are also converting some Sears Grand and Sears Essentials stores to Kmart stores, including the Sears Essentials in Homer Glen. Sears posted a $170-million first-quarter loss. The overall first-quarter revenue fell 3.4%, to $9.7 billion, as Sears operated fewer stores and sales at its existing stores fell.

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Sears cuts 250 jobs, reports loss bigger than expected