May chain closings to take 3,700 jobs

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- May Department Stores Co. is closing 32 of its Lord & amp; Taylor stores in 15 states and two other stores under different names, leaving about 3,700 workers without jobs.
The targeted stores -- representing 38 percent of Lord & amp; Taylor's sites but just 19 percent of the company's sales -- are in markets where Lord & amp; Taylor lacked a major presence and generally had a small number of stores, the retailer said Wednesday.
St. Louis-based May, pushing to focus on its core markets, will still have 54 Lord & amp; Taylor stores in 11 states and the District of Columbia.
May also plans to close a Famous-Barr store in Des Moines, Iowa, and a Jones Store site in Omaha, Neb.
The company said it will take a charge of approximately $380 million for closing costs. May said it expects the closures to yield yearly savings of about $50 million.
Last month, May said it laid off about 1,500 workers in sales management and support positions, amounting to about 1.3 percent of its overall work force.
In addition to Lord & amp; Taylor, Famous-Barr and The Jones Store, May operates 446 department stores, including Kaufmann's.