Macy's to lay off 2,500, close five stores

Cincinnati --Macy's plans to trim about 2,500 jobs and close five stores in early spring as part of a cost-cutting plan to save $100 million per year.

The job cuts will include central office staff and laid-off employees will be eligible for severance. The company will add positions in other divisions, such as online operations, direct-to-consumer fulfillment and new stores, leaving the total workforce at around 175,000 associates. The retailer will incur charges of between $120 million and $135 million this quarter as a result.

There are eight new Macy's and Bloomingdale's stores being planned or under construction, as previously announced.The news came as the department store recorded strong holiday sales and delivered an upbeat preliminary forecast for 2014. Comparable sales rose 3.6 percent in November and December, about the same as in the third quarter. Macy's forecast a profit of $4.40 to $4.50 per share for next fiscal year, beating analysts' expectations of $3.87, and forecasted comp sales to grow 2.5 percent to 3 percent next fiscal year, which starts next month.