Major Pennsylvania Companies Announce Layoffs, Store Closings

Several major companies have announced store closings and layoffs in Pennsylvania that will leave hundreds without work.

Kmart, Sears, Macy's and Endo Pharmaceutical were among the major companies that say they're laying people off or closing stores and plants, which will lead to layoffs.

The decisions come after several retailers, restaurants and others reported lagging business, particularly during the holiday season when sales at Macy's and elsewhere fell short of expectations.

Here is what is happening:

• Macy’s: Macy's has announced it will close 34 more stores in 2017, just months after announcing that 66 stores will close. Six stores in Pennsylvania are set to shut their doors, but the new locations have not been identified. Read more here....
• Endo Pharmaceutical, an international pharmaceutical company based in Malvern and Dublin, Ireland, will be cutting nearly 100 jobs, including layoffs at its Malvern location. According to multiple reports, the company will cut 45 jobs at its U.S. headquarters in Malvern. Read more here...
• Kmart and Sears have announced they are closing multiple locations, amounting to a total of nine in Pennsylvania between the two chains. Kmart will close six Pennsylvania stores, while Sears will shutter three. Sears, which owns Kmart, said it is closing 150 stores by the spring, part of a "difficult but necessary step as we take actions to strengthen the company’s operations and fund its transformation," the company said in a statement. Read more here...
• Kraft Heinz Co.: The company recently vacated a plant in Upper Macungie, the Allentown Morning Call reported. Kraft Heinz announced it would close the Upper Macungie plant and six others in the United States and Canada over the next year or two as part of a restructuring plan to cut 2,600 jobs.

Patch file photo