German department store chain to shut 40% of its outlets

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s last major department store chain has announced that it plans to close two-fifths of its branches, months after it filed for insolvency protection for the second time in less than three years. The long-troubled Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof plans to shut 52 of its current 129 stores in two phases, with the first closing down at the end of June and the rest at the end of January. It said Monday that about 4,000 employees at those stores will be affected, and that another 300 jobs will go at its headquarters in Essen and in other areas such as IT and facility management.