Macy’s plans to lay off 234 employees at its Columbia, Annapolis locations

Macy’s has notified state labor officials that it plans to lay off 234 workers between its department stores at The Mall in Columbia and Westfield Annapolis, less than a week after both reopened for the first time since the coronavirus closed most retailers in March.

Macy’s will lay off 131 employees in Columbia and 103 in Annapolis, according to filings Friday with the Maryland Department of Labor. The layoffs take effect June 30.

While both filings noted the layoffs were the result of closures, the stores will remain open, said Jacqueline King, Macy’s director of media relations.

“Macy’s Annapolis and Macy’s Columbia stores will remain open to serve our customers, however they would like to shop, whether in-store, online or through our curbside pick-up,” she said.

Macy’s Inc. announced Thursday that it will “restructure” in response to low sales expected as a consequence of the coronavirus-related closures. The parent company of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury said it will lay off nearly 4,000 corporate and managerial positions along with cutting staff across Macy’s stores.

Macy’s joins a string of large retailers that laid off large staffs or closed across the United States.

For some withering department and chain store brands slow on the e-commerce uptake, the devastating financial effect of coronavirus could be the final blow.

“In this new economy, we do expect to see a faster rate of closures,” said Rosa Cruz, vice president and spokesperson for the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp.

The sprawling, 2-million-square-foot Westfield Annapolis mall has been losing anchors in recent years. Nordstrom laid off 237 workers in March and plans to close its Westfield Annapolis location by August. Sears filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and closed in Annapolis in April. Lord & Taylor closed there in April 2018

J.C. Penney, the only other remaining department store at the mall, has filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to close some locations. It has not included Annapolis on that list.

Both malls recently reopened with capacity limits and new safety guidelines to help keep the public safe during the coronavirus pandemic.