JCPenney Layoffs 2021: Retailer Slashes 650 Jobs Under New Owners

Department store retailer JCPenney has cut more jobs after emerging from bankruptcy in November under the ownership of mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.

The company has cut a total of 650 jobs, or 1.5% of its workforce, comprising workers in stores, field operations, and corporate locations, The Dallas Morning News first reported.

JC Penney currently has more than 50,000 employees, according to KXAS, an NBC affiliate out of Fort Worth, Texas reported.

According to KXAS, about 100 jobs included corporate employees. The company has a workforce of 3,500 people at its Plano, Texas headquarters.

Layoffs were made last week and also included some open positions, and some employees were offered alternate positions when possible, JCPenney told The Dallas Morning News.

JCPenney has been undergoing a transformation of its operations in recent months as it looks to find its identity in a changing retail landscape. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 in December 2020, was bought by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management in September 2020 in a $1.75 billion deal.

Through the reorganization, JC Penney announced at the time that it would close 242 stores. The company has since closed more than 150 locations, as well as winding down some distribution centers and reducing its overall headcount at its corporate headquarters in Plano.

JCPenney, like many retailers, found itself filing for bankruptcy protection during the pandemic amid financial struggles, which were only compounded as stores temporarily closed in March 2020 during the shutdown of all nonessential businesses.

On Dec. 31, JC Penney announced that CEO Jill Soltau was exiting the company, with the retailer saying that it was searching for new leadership. It appointed Stanley Shashoua, Simon Property Group’s chief investment officer, as the interim chief executive officer. No replacement has been named.

At the time that it first entered bankruptcy, JCPenney had 85,000 workers and 846 stores. It now has 650 locations.