After disappointing holiday sales, Macy's Inc. says it will eliminate 271 jobs in the northern Midwest, including about 100 in the Minneapolis area where the northern division is headquartered.
Macy's North operates 64 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The department store chain will also discontinue most of its wine business in the region and shutter several food operations.
The layoffs, which also affect about 100 in the Chicago area and 70 in the Detroit area, take effect in March.
Macy's says no sales positions will be eliminated in this wave of layoffs, which will come from store-level and corporate positions in alterations, food, marketing, store display merchandising and finance.
About half of the 100 jobs lost in the Twin Cities will come from the Minneapolis headquarters, said spokeswoman Jennifer McNamara.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
