144 People Out Of A Job When Garden State Plaza's JCPenney Closes

PARAMUS, NJ — More than 140 people will lose their jobs when the JCPenney store at the Westfield Garden State Plaza closes next month.

In a WARN notice posted this week, 144 people will be laid off after the store closes its doors for the last time March 10. The state requires the notices be issued to employees 60 days prior to the start of a massive layoff.

JCPenney announced in February it would close up to 140 of its brick-and-mortar stores nationwide this year.

The move is hoped to help JCPenney better compete in the changing marketplace, CEO Marvin R. Ellison said in a statement.

The Paramus store has been an anchor retailer at the state's largest shopping mall since it opened in 1958, a year after the mall did, NorthJersey.com reported.

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Patch file photo of a JCPenny store