Macy’s makes unexpected closures as customers cut back

Macy’s, which has been operating for implicit 165 years with a retail footprint of much than 450 stores successful the U.S., has been struggling to triumph implicit customers amid economical uncertainty implicit the past fewer years, contempt caller efforts to reverse this concerning trend.

Macy’s, which besides owns Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, revealed successful its astir caller net study that its nett income dropped 0.6% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful the 3rd 4th of 2025, which was amid the vacation season.

Specifically, nett income astatine namesake Macy’s stores decreased by 2.3%. Also, caller information from Placer.ai showed that ft postulation astatine Macy’s locations during the 4th declined by astir 11% twelvemonth implicit year.

As income and ft postulation continued to dip, Macy’s reported a 60% diminution successful nett income compared to the aforesaid play successful 2024.

“Looking astatine the evolving retail landscape, consumers are much discerning astir however and wherever they walk their dollars,” said Macy’s CEO Antony Spring during an net telephone past month.

The weaker user request follows Macy’s determination to rise prices successful its stores past twelvemonth owed to tariffs. This was a risky move, since galore Americans person been pulling backmost connected spending amid concerns astir the authorities of the U.S. economy.

• Amid tariffs and inflation, 59% of consumers consciousness cautious, pessimistic oregon panicked astir the economy.

• Approximately 71% cited higher prices arsenic their top concern, portion 47% cited unpredictable terms increases.

• Also, 38% are seeking deals much often, while 34% are spending little overall.
  Source: Wunderkind

“U.S. shoppers are proving much strategical than ever,” wrote Danny O'Reilly, elder contented designer astatine Wunderkind, successful a blog post. “What began arsenic short-term caution has present crystallized into a caller retail reality: worth is the priority, spot is the differentiator, and integer fluency defines how, and wherever consumers spend.”

As Macy’s struggles to pull customers, it has decided to softly chopped backmost its proviso chain. The section store concatenation is closing its fulfillment halfway successful Cheshire, Connecticut, according to a WARN announcement submitted connected Jan. 13.

The closure volition effect successful 993 layoffs, which volition hap successful phases implicit the adjacent fewer months arsenic operating units unopen down astatine the center. The occupation cuts volition beryllium based connected employees’ shifts and the portion they enactment in.

Specifically, nighttime operations and endowment acquisition employees volition beryllium laid disconnected connected March 14. Part-time operations employees who enactment connected the weekends and passim the time volition beryllium fto spell connected April 4.

Those who enactment full-time successful play operations volition beryllium laid disconnected connected Aug. 1. Also, full-time operations employees who enactment passim the time volition beryllium chopped connected Aug. 29, on with those successful attraction and plus protection.

Related: Macy’s sees vacation buying reddish flags

However, Macy’s stated successful the announcement that “a tiny number” of attraction and plus extortion workers volition stay employed done April 16, 2027, to “handle the decommissioning process.”

The closure from Macy’s comes aft it submitted a WARN announcement connected Jan. 12 that reveals its plans to adjacent the remaining operating units astatine a organisation halfway successful South Windsor by March 14, resulting successful the layoffs of 57 employees.

The institution besides revealed earlier this period that it was closing its fulfillment halfway successful Tulsa, Oklahoma, this spring.

Macy’s caller cost-cutting moves travel arsenic it continues to instrumentality its Bold New Chapter strategy, which was announced successful 2024. It involves reimagining the Macy’s nameplate, elevating its merchandise assortment, and simplifying and modernizing end-to-end operations.

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Through this strategy, Macy’s said it plans to “rationalize and monetize the proviso concatenation plus portfolio, streamline fulfillment, amended inventory readying and allocation, and present a scalable exertion platform,” according to a 2024 property release.

During an net telephone successful 2024, erstwhile Macy’s Chief Financial Officer Adrian Mitchell said the strategy is expected to make $235 cardinal successful outgo savings by the extremity of this year.

Macy’s besides plans to implicit 150 store closures during this period.

“In executing our strategy, we proceed to reappraisal our portfolio and marque cautious decisions astir wherever and however we invest, including closing underproductive stores and streamlining operations,” said Spring successful a memo to employees connected Jan. 8 this year.

Macy’s caller closures and occupation cuts travel arsenic much companies are restructuring their workforces amid economical challenges and the emergence of artificial intelligence, according to a caller survey from Resume.org.

• Approximately 55% of companies expect to conduct layoffs successful 2026.

• Specifically, 48% said layoffs volition decidedly oregon astir apt hap during the first quarter of the year.

• Also, 44% of companies said artificial quality was the top crushed for layoffs, portion 42% said reorganization/restructuring and 39% said fund constraints.

• Additionally, 6 successful 10 companies admit they item AI to make hiring freezes oregon layoffs much palatable.
  Source: Resume.org

“What we are seeing is workforce rebalancing,” said Kara Dennison, caput of vocation advising astatine Resume.org, successful a statement. “Companies are laying disconnected successful areas that nary longer align with near-term priorities portion hiring aggressively successful functions tied to revenue, transformation, and efficiency.”

“Most organizations are reducing roles that are higher-cost, slower to output ROI, oregon misaligned with caller operating models,” she continued. “That often includes layers of mediate management, duplicated functions aft reorganizations, and roles tied to bequest processes. At the aforesaid time, they’re investing successful roles that enactment growth, automation, data, lawsuit retention, and execution speed.”

Related: Lululemon struggles to reverse concerning lawsuit behavior

This communicative was primitively published by TheStreet connected Jan 24, 2026, wherever it archetypal appeared successful the Retail section. Add TheStreet arsenic a Preferred Source by clicking here.