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After filing for Chapter 11 and announcing plans to close dozens of stores, fashion retailer Express Inc. plans to lay off 161 workers in New Jersey.

In a filing with the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the company said the positions are being eliminated at multiple locations throughout the state as of May 27.

The notice comes less than a week after the Columbus, Ohio-based company said it expects to shutter at least 95 of its 530 namesake stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and that closing sales were underway.

Within New Jersey, the impacted locations are:

• Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus
• Freehold Raceway Mall, Freehold
• Deptford Mall, Deptford
• Mall at Hamilton Center, Mays Landing
• Moorestown Mall, Moorestown
• Livingston Mall, Livingston
• Woodbridge Center, Woodbridge

“We are required to provide notification under certain state and federal laws of possible job losses, even as we work to complete a sale of the Company through a court-supervised process,” a company spokesperson told NJBIZ. “Given that we do not yet know exactly which employees will have continuing roles following this process, out of an abundance of caution, Express, Inc. is providing WARN notice to all corporate associates. These notices do not mean that anyone’s employment has or will be terminated.”

Once the stores go dark, the company will be left with 10 locations statewide.

Express also noted it received a non-binding letter of intent for the potential purchase of the company by New York-based WHP Global Management. The company said that it filed for bankruptcy “to facilitate the sale process.”

Following that, Express is working with New York-headquartered real estate advisory firm A&G Realty Partners to assess remaining store footprint in connection with the bankruptcy process.

As the company works to right-size its lease portfolio and operations, Express said it is continuing to serve customers in stores and online across all three brands and expects to conduct business as usual.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:11 a.m. ET May 1, 2024, to include a statement from the company.

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