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Coronavirus pandemic prompts layoffs at Belk department store chain

The company closed 291 stores in 16 Southern states because of COVID-19.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The coronavirus pandemic has prompted layoffs at the Belk department store chain, including at its North Carolina-based corporate headquarters. 

The Charlotte Observer reported the Charlotte-based company declined to disclose the total number of job losses. 

The company has about 1,300 employees at its corporate office and about 20,000 employees total.

Belk said in a statement that it “had to make some of the most difficult decisions of its 130-year history.” The company said it is providing severance packages to those affected. 

The company closed 291 stores in 16 Southern states because of COVID-19.

Stores started to reopen in May.

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