J.C. Penney to shutter 39 stores, lay off up to 2,250

Despite a better-than-expected holiday shopping season, it wasn't enough to keep J.C. Penney JCP from shuttering 39 underperforming stores and laying off 2,250 workers.

Penney said the mall-based stores in 19 states will close by early April. Word of the store closures - which represent about 4% of the middle-market chain's stores - came days after Penney said holiday sales rose 3.7%.

"We continually evaluate our store portfolio to determine whether there's a need to close or relocate underperforming stores,'' said company media relations manager Sarah Holland. "Reviews such as these are essential in meeting our long-term goals for future company growth. While it's never an easy decision to close stores, especially due to the impact on our valued associates and customers, we feel this is a necessary business decision."

Penney shares closed up 0.8% to $7.95 Thursday after jumping 20% Wednesday on its holiday sales report.

With a glut of retail outlets, on-line sales rising and consumer tastes changing, many big chains are curtailing operations. Sears, Staples, Macy's and Coach announced store closures in 2014. But Penney is the biggest retailer to announce post-holiday store closures so far this year. Wednesday, struggling teen-centric retailer Wet Seal said 338 stores - two thirds of its total - would close and 3,700 employees let go in an effort to avoid bankruptcy.

Consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow, author of Decoding the New Consumer Mind, says, "Retail is in a massive transformation period. Consumers have lost their enthusiasm for trolling through massive stores hunting for a bargain. They can do that online.

"The only big department stores that will remain relevant to consumers are those that are incorporate tricks and treats into the shopping mix — like product offerings you can't find online, special demonstration or sampling, cushy or fun relaxation areas."

She says J.C. Penney "is bloated with deteriorating real estate at a time when people want smaller, easier to navigate, technology-enhanced shopping experiences.

"Poor Penney. I bet I'm not the only Boomer that really, really wants to shop there for the sake of their heritage, but can't," Yarrow says.

Contributing: Nanci Hellmich

Penney stores facing closure:

Georgia

Dalton: Walnut Square Mall
Duluth: Gwinnett Place Mall
Lagrange: Lagrange Mall

Iowa

Mason City: Southbridge Mall
West Burlington: Westland Mall
Waterloo: Crossroads Shopping Center

Illinois

DeKalb: Northland Plaza
Quincy: Quincy Mall

Indiana

Michigan City: Marquette Mall

Massachusetts

Hanover: Hanover Mall
Taunton: Silver City Galleria

Michigan

Adrian: Adrian South Mall

North Carolina

Asheboro: Randolph Mall
Elizabeth City: Southgate Mall
Statesville: Signal Hill Mall
Wilson: Parkwood Mall

New Jersey

Vineland: Cumberland Mall

New York

Kingston: Hudson Valley Mall

Ohio

Columbus: Eastland Mall
Greenville: North Towne Plaza
Springfield: Upper Valley Mall

Oregon

North Bend: Pony Village Mall

Pennsylvania

Chambersburg: Chambersburg Mall
Hummels Wharf: Susquehanna Valley Mall
Media: Granite Run Mall
State College: Nittany Mall
York: York Galleria

Rhode Island

Providence: Providence Place Mall

South Carolina

Aiken: Aiken Mall
Murrells Inlet: Inlet Square Mall

South Dakota

Aberdeen: Lakewood Mall

Texas

Brenham: Market Square Mall

Virginia

Manassas: Manassas Mall
Williamsburg: The Marquis

Vermont

Rutland: Diamond Run Mall
St.Albans: St.Albans Shopping Center

Wisconsin

Oshkosh: Aviation Plaza
Racine: Regency Mall

Shawano, Shawano Plaza

Navistar to close Indianapolis foundry, cut 180 jobs

Navistar plans to close an Indianapolis foundry that makes engine blocks and heads, cutting about 180 jobs.

"We've determined that leveraging our suppliers for these components will reduce our engine costs, improve our overall manufacturing capacity utilization, and free up additional resources to invest in our core North America truck and parts business," Persio Lisboa, Lisle-based Navistar's president of operations, said in a statement today.

The move is expected to cut operating costs about $13 million a year, the company said. Navistar took an $11 million charge in the fourth quarter related to the move and expects to take another $40 million in charges in the first half of 2015.

The company said it would complete closing the foundry by next summer.

Cars.com cuts 32 Chicago jobs

Cars.com cut 32 jobs last week at its Chicago headquarters in a 2.5 percent headcount reduction that comes just months after it was acquired by media giant Gannett.

The online car classified ads company, which has about 1,300 employees, mainly in Chicago, is also dismissing the workers following the promotion last month of Cars.com veteran Alex Vetter, who replaced Dan Jauernig at the top of the company.

Gannett acquired Cars.com from Chicago-based Classified Ventures, which sold off its businesses this year, including Apartments.com, after its newspaper owners decided to cash in on the growth they had seen in the digital era. McLean, Va.-based Gannett was one of the five newspaper companies that owned Classified Ventures, including Tribune, McClatchy, A.H. Belo and Graham Holdings.

Instead of selling its stake in Cars.com, though, Gannett opted to increase its stake as part of its $1.8 billion Cars.com purchase.

“We are taking various actions to achieve our growth plans and become a more customer-focused enterprise,” the company said in a statement. “This includes some staffing adjustments in different places across the company designed to reduce complexity in the organization.”

Classified Ventures sold Apartments.com to Washington, D.C.-based Costar Group in March for $585 million.

Citi cuts around 35 jobs on London trading floor

(Reuters) - U.S. bank Citi (C) has cut around 35 jobs across its capital markets trading operation in London, sources with knowledge of the changes said on Wednesday.

The cuts, announced internally last month, were across all asset classes, the sources told Reuters, and included head of G10 currency strategy Valentin Marinov.

High-earning jobs on trading floors have been squeezed by the growth in machine-driven trading and broader cuts at banks since the 2008 financial crisis, and lenders are also putting aside billions against the cost of litigation over charges they manipulated currency and interest rate markets.

Citigroup Inc said when it published third quarter results last month that it was pulling out of consumer banking in 11 markets, including Japan and Egypt, as it seeks to cut persistently high costs.

The third-largest U.S. bank, built with a series of acquisitions spanning back to the 1980s, has been trying to slim down since the financial crisis to be as profitable as rivals. It has shed hundreds of billions of dollars of bad assets.