JCPENNEY TO CLOSE 100 STORES

JCPenney Co. Inc., which operates 1,200 JCPenney stores and 2,800 Eckerd Drug stores, has announced it will close about 100 stores and lay off more than 5,000 people.

The chain will close stores that don't meet the company's performance standards, which will result in 3,200 job cuts.

The company will then slash an additional 2,000 management jobs, said company spokesman Duncan Muir.

The first stores to close include six operations in six states -- Babylon, N.Y.; Beloit, Wis.; Kewanee, Ill.; Bay City, Texas; West St. Paul, Minn.; and St. Helens, Ore., within 60 to 90 days.

The Cape Girardeau store, number 554 in the chain, opened in the downtown area more than 70 years ago. It has been a growing store ever since.

The JCPenney store has been operating in Cape Girardeau since opening in 1924 at 33 N. Main St.

The department store, which opened with 5,000-square-feet of space, eventually expanding to 19,000 square-feet before moving to 30,000 square foot building in Town Plaza. Eventually, it moved to West Park Mall in 1981.

JCPenney executives refused to divulge the names of other stores on the endangered list, saying only that store closings would be announced 60 to 90 days in advance.

The cuts will help make the retailer more competitive.

"We need to challenge the processes and identify unproductive assets in order to remain competitive in this dynamic retailing industry," said JCPenney chief executive James E. Oesterreicher in a statement.

"While change is always difficult, and we regret the need to reduce staff, we are motivated by the need to become more efficient and effective in serving our customer," he added.

Oesterreicher said cost savings from the reductions will be about $50 million in 1998 and about $105 million in 1999. The company will offer severance packages to dismissed employees.

The move was the second staff reduction in recent months. Early retirement was given to 1,250 people last summer.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.