Kmart starts notifying stores whether they will be closed

Kmart has announced another massive round of layoffs and store closings. 326 locations are shutting down. 30,000 people will lose their jobs. <br><br>News on Six reporter Steve Berg says workers at

Tuesday, January 14th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Kmart has announced another massive round of layoffs and store closings. 326 locations are shutting down. 30,000 people will lose their jobs.

News on Six reporter Steve Berg says workers at the Kmart near Admiral and Yale got the bad news Tuesday. Their store is closing down. It's the only one in Oklahoma.

But that's probably not much consolation for the workers here. They will still have jobs for about 60 days. They got memos Tuesday that told them terminations will happen on or about March 21st. The store would close the same day.

The bankrupt retailer said it targeted stores with unprofitable leases, unsatisfactory performance, and high competition from other retailers. But customers say they liked the store. Customer, Khisha Thompson, "I hate to see it close, I mean it's a really good store, and I'm in the neighborhood. It's very convenient and we're not gonna have it anymore." Another customer, Lloyd Oakely, "the service is good, I've never had to wait, and they've been friendly, just all-around good people."

So that leaves just two Kmarts in Tulsa. They closed down the one on 71st Street last year. Now this one. Some good news, last month, Kmart posted their first profit since filing for bankruptcy.

Elsewhere across Oklahoma, there are Kmart stores in Shawnee, Enid, Lawton, Clinton, Sand Springs, Broken Arrow, Muskogee and Bartlesville.