Macy’s massive store closure plan: where it stands in 2026

The Department Store Giant Keeps Shrinking

Macy’s just announced another round of store closures, and the numbers are staggering.

The 167-year-old department store chain is shuttering 150 locations by the end of 2026 while eliminating thousands of jobs across retail stores, corporate offices, and distribution centers.

Fourteen more stores started clearance sales in mid-January, joining the 66 that already closed in 2025.

What was once the anchor of American shopping malls is now racing to survive in a world that moved online.

The plan is called Bold New Chapter. For thousands of workers, it feels more like a final chapter.

14 Stores Close Across 12 States

CEO Tony Spring confirmed the latest closures in a January 2026 memo to employees.

The stores are in California, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

Locations include the Grossmont Center in La Mesa, the Northlake Mall in Atlanta, and the Boulevard Mall in Amherst.

Clearance sales started mid-January and will run about 10 weeks.

Employees at affected stores were notified before the public announcement and offered transfers where available.

Thousands of Jobs Eliminated

The Bold New Chapter restructuring plan does not just close stores. It cuts positions across retail locations, corporate offices, and distribution centers.

Macy’s laid off 2,350 corporate workers in January 2024, about 3.5% of its total workforce.

The company framed the cuts as necessary to become a leaner operation.

New hires at upgraded stores will offset some losses, but the net result is still thousands of jobs affected by the time the plan wraps up.

Connecticut Loses Over 1,150 Warehouse Jobs

Retail workers are not the only ones affected.

Macy’s is closing two fulfillment centers in Cheshire, Connecticut, eliminating 993 jobs by August 2026.

Another 163 positions are being cut at the South Windsor distribution center, where the Backstage operation shut down in early January.

The Cheshire facilities have operated since 1986.

Layoffs will roll out in waves through the spring and summer, with warehouse associates, drivers, and mechanics all losing their positions.

66 Stores Already Shut Down in 2025

The January 2026 closures are not the beginning.

Macy’s closed 66 stores in 2025 across 22 states, the first major wave under the Bold New Chapter plan. Those closures hit suburban malls and some well-known urban locations.

Clearance sales ran for 8 to 12 weeks at each site before the final doors closed.

By the time the 2025 round finished, Macy’s had already eliminated roughly a third of its planned 150 closures.

Spring Says the Strategy Is Working

Despite the closures, CEO Tony Spring insists the company is on the right track.

Sales at the 350 stores Macy’s plans to keep rose for two straight quarters in late 2025.

The company reported its strongest growth in more than three years during the holiday season. Spring pointed to record Net Promoter Scores and a 2.7% jump in comparable sales at the 125 stores receiving major upgrades.

Investors responded positively, pushing Macy’s stock up more than 30-35% over the past year.

From 867 Stores to 350 in Seven Years

The speed of Macy’s decline is hard to overstate.

In February 2019, the company operated 867 stores.

By early 2024, that number had fallen to 480.

After the Bold New Chapter plan finishes, Macy’s will have roughly 350 full-size locations left.

The company also runs small-format stores and Backstage locations. Add in Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury boutiques, and Macy’s Inc. still has a presence, but the flagship brand is a fraction of what it was.

Dead Malls Need Anchor Stores to Survive

Macy’s closures are accelerating a problem that started years ago.

Shopping malls depend on anchor stores like Macy’s, JCPenney, and Sears to draw foot traffic.

When anchors leave, smaller stores lose customers, vacancies rise, and the whole property can spiral into decline.

About 700 large malls remain in the United States, down from roughly 2,500 in the 1980s.

Every Macy’s closure pushes another mall closer to that edge.

Sears and JCPenney Fell First

Macy’s is not the first department store to collapse, just the biggest one still standing.

Sears filed for bankruptcy in October 2018 after decades of decline. JCPenney filed in May 2020, along with Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor. Those chains either liquidated entirely or emerged as shadows of their former selves.

Macy’s has avoided bankruptcy so far, but its competitors’ fates show what happens when department stores cannot adapt fast enough.

Amazon and Discount Stores Won

The shift happened gradually, then all at once.

Online shopping grew dramatically in the years before the pandemic, and teenagers who once hung out at malls started socializing on their phones instead.

Meanwhile, discount retailers like TJ Maxx, Ross, and Marshalls captured price-conscious shoppers. Macy’s found itself stuck in the middle, too expensive for bargain hunters and too ordinary for luxury seekers.

The company’s stock dropped roughly 52% from its 2015 peak before the turnaround plan began.

Old Macy’s Buildings Get New Lives

When a 150,000-square-foot department store closes, something has to fill the space.

Across the country, former Macy’s locations are being converted into apartments, medical centers, churches, and entertainment venues.

One former Sears in Dayton, Ohio, became a megachurch.

Some mall owners are subdividing anchor spaces into smaller storefronts for Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dave & Buster’s, or Barnes & Noble.

A few properties are being demolished and rebuilt as mixed-use developments.

Workers Can Transfer or Take Severance

Macy’s says it notifies employees several weeks before their store closes.

Workers can apply for transfers to nearby locations, though options are limited in smaller towns with only one store. Those who cannot transfer receive severance packages and outplacement support.

The clearance sales keep staff employed temporarily, usually for 8 to 12 weeks. But once the final day comes, thousands of retail workers face the same tight job market that has squeezed the industry for years.

Herald Square and the Parade Stay Put

Macy’s is shrinking, but it is not disappearing.

The Herald Square flagship in Manhattan, with about 2.2 million total square feet (including roughly 1.1 million square feet of selling space), remains one of the largest department stores in the world and will stay open.

So will the Thanksgiving Day Parade, which Macy’s has hosted since 1924.

The company is investing in its top 125 stores, upgrading their design, staffing, and customer experience.

For shoppers in those markets, Macy’s will stick around.

For everyone else, the red star logo is becoming a memory of how Americans used to shop.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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