Penney to close 45 department stores, 289 Eckerd stores

The store closings and staff cuts will save about $200 million a year, Penney said.

The retailer will take a total of about $530 million in restructuring charges. Some of those charges were taken in the fiscal fourth quarter that ended Jan. 29, resulting in a loss of $12 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with net income of 77 cents per share in the same period last year. The rest of the charges will come in the current period.

James E. Oesterreicher, J.C. Penney's chairman and chief executive officer, said the department stores that are closing are unprofitable and perform well below the company's average sales levels. Most of the stores will be closed by midyear. Employees haven't been told yet which stores are closing, a spokeswoman said. The list will be available in about two weeks, she said.

Penney's stock price has declined almost 60 percent in the past year, and the chain has been losing market share to discount stores and specialty chains. The company has made several other recent moves to improve its performance, including hiring outside talent and centralizing merchandise buying in Plano.