JCPenney to close Palisades Center location, cutting 89 jobs

The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is closing its store at the Palisades Center in West Nyack along with 137 other locations nationwide. The closing of the Rockland County location will result in the loss of 89 jobs, according to a state filing.

The company announced in February it planned to close between 130 and 140 stores to “optimize its national retail operations.” JCPenney released a list on March 17 that included the Palisades Center stores along with two other New York locations in Long Island and in the state’s Southern Tier.

A WARN notice filed with the state Department of Labor on March 16 stated that 89 employees at the store would lose their jobs by June 18. The company said in a press release that about 5,000 positions across the nation would be cut.

The closings represent about 14 percent of the company’s portfolio and are expected to save about $200 million per year, according to JCPenney’s announcement.

The company described the closings as part of an “aggressive action to better align our retail operations for sustainable growth.”

“We believe the relevance of our brick and mortar portfolio will be driven by the implementation of these initiatives consistently to a larger percent of our stores,” said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of JCPenney. “Therefore, our decision to close stores will allow us to raise the overall brand standard of the company and allocate capital more efficiently.”

The company said affected stores will begin the liquidation process on April 17.