After declining holiday sales, JCPenney will cut more than 200 jobs in Johnson County
After a deep decline in holiday sales, department store JCPenney announced it will cut more than 200 jobs at a Lenexa customer service center.
The Plano, Texas-based company informed Kansas regulators on Thursday that 243 employees would be affected.
JCPenney spokeswoman Kristen Bennett said the company was closing the center “to centralize call center operations and deliver streamlined service to our customers.”
Aside from the call center, JCPenney also operates a distribution center in the Johnson County suburb. The company ranks among the city’s largest employers, according to the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce.
Bennett said neither the distribution center nor Kansas City metro stores would be affected by the call center’s closure.
Last week, the company reported its holiday sales — an all-important metric for big box chains. JCPenney said sales for the combined nine-week period ending Jan. 4, 2020, decreased 7.5% from the previous year. It joined Kohl’s and Victoria’s Secret in reporting lower sales in November and December.
In the spring of 2018, JCPenney announced it would hire 400 additional people to work at the Lenexa call center.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 10:15 AM.
