1,950 to lose jobs as 20 Lowe’s stores shut

October 18, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe’s Inc. is closing 20 stores and opening fewer than half of the new stores it had planned in the coming years, the company said Monday.

Monday’s move will cost 1,950 workers their jobs, the company said. Lowe’s will pay between $100 million and $130 million to exit leases for the affected stores, adjust inventory and terminate employees.

“Closing stores is never easy, given the impact on hard-working employees and local communities,” said Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock. “However, we have an obligation to make tough decisions when necessary to improve profitability and strengthen our financial position.”

None of the affected stores is in Ohio or Pennsylvania.

Lowe’s, the nation’s second-largest home- improvement store, also has shaken up its top management recently, streamlining its structure as the company seeks to improve its performance against larger rival Home Depot.

Lowe’s already has closed 10 of the stores, which the company said were underperforming, and the remaining 10 will close within a month after selling off their inventory. Lowe’s is on track to open 25 stores this year and will operate about 1,725 stores after the closings.