J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said Thursday it will cut 5,300 jobs and close 47 stores — including three in Illinois — as part of an effort to boost profits at the long-struggling retailer. Most will be closed in the first half of the year, the company said. In Illinois, the stores being closed are at the Randhurst Mall in Mt. Prospect, the Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles and the Village Mall in Danville. The St. Charles store will close Saturday. The Danville store will close April 21 and the Mt. Prospect store is scheduled to close May 31. The Plano, Texas-based retailer operates about 1,100 Penney department stores. The closings will eliminate 5,000 store jobs and 300 jobs in headquarters and field offices — about 2 percent of the company’s workforce of 290,000 employees. Penney said an undisclosed number of store employees could be offered other jobs. Penney said it would take a charge of $275 million, which amounts to about 68 cents a share after taxes, in the quarter ending Jan. 27.
