Macy’s store closures were part of the reason for the recent round of retail layoffs, according to a new Challenger, Gray & Christmas analysis published by Fox Business.

The report paints a grim picture for U.S. workers: Employers announced roughly 696,000 job cuts between January and May 2025—an 80% jump from the same stretch last year. Retail has borne a disproportionate share of that pain. Nearly 76,000 retail positions were eliminated in the five-month window, a staggering 274% increase versus 2024 and the second-highest total behind federal government cuts. Analysts point to a combustible mix of weaker consumer spending, tariff-driven cost pressures, and corporate belt-tightening as prime drivers of the bloodletting.

Although craft chain Joann and several pharmacy giants have grabbed headlines, Macy’s looms large in the 2025 retail retrenchment story. In January, the department-store icon confirmed plans to shutter 66 under-performing locations across 22 states—the first tranche of a strategy that will ultimately cull 150 stores by 2026. The move folds into the company’s multiyear “Bold New Chapter” turnaround plan and is expected to erase thousands of jobs in sales, visual merchandising, logistics, and middle management.

While closures are rolling out in phases, two high-profile locations illustrate the human and local economic stakes.

Both continue to operate—but only until liquidation sales wrap later this year, with discounts topping 90% off ticketed prices. On Long Island, the March shutdown of Macy’s at the historic Sunrise Mall in Massapequa turned the regional center into a near-vacant “ghost mall,” leaving Dick’s Sporting Goods as the last major tenant. Scenes like these underscore how quickly a single anchor departure can drain foot traffic from an entire shopping district.

Speaking at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York, CEO Tony Spring said the retailer interviewed 60,000 active and lapsed customers before drafting its consolidation blueprint. Shoppers asked for:

“To deliver that experience, we have to focus resources on high-potential stores—and that means exiting under-productive boxes,” Spring told the audience. Macy’s will redirect capital toward expanding higher-margin banners Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, remodeling key flagships, and sharpening its supply-chain speed.

The Challenger report argues that store closures are only one pressure point. Federal spending cuts under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), lingering tariff uncertainty, and softening discretionary spending have all prompted retailers to reduce their payrolls. For publicly traded chains, payroll trimming is often the fastest lever for defending margins when top-line sales wobble. That logic is amplified at legacy department-store operators like Macy’s, where real-estate costs are high and foot traffic continues to migrate online.

In past retail shakeouts, big-box veterans have found new opportunities in e-commerce operations, last-mile logistics, and smaller experiential concepts. Macy’s says it will attempt to place eligible associates in nearby “go-forward” stores or its growing network of fulfillment centers. Meanwhile, liquidation events offer near-term margin boosts and valuable working capital relief, allowing management to redeploy cash toward tech upgrades and boutique concepts that resonate with younger shoppers.

The 274% spike in retail layoffs so far this year underscores how rapidly the sector’s fortunes can flip when macro headwinds meet long-delayed restructuring plans. Macy’s, once the quintessential American department store, is now emblematic of an industry racing to right-size bricks-and-mortar footprints in the face of digital disruption and volatile demand. Whether Spring’s “Bold New Chapter” delivers long-term value—or merely buys time—will hinge on execution: streamlined assortments, sharper omnichannel logistics, and a customer experience compelling enough to keep wallets opening. For tens of thousands of retail workers, those strategic choices aren’t just line items on an earnings call—they’re the difference between a steady paycheck and an unexpected pink slip.