Macy's said that it will be closing down nine of its stores, and is also cutting its presently employed staff by 900 employees. Amongst the nine stores are those located in Indiana, Louisiana, three stores in Ohio, two in Texas and one in Utah.%%According to Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO of Macy's, Inc, "While the decision to close stores is difficult, it is necessary that we do so selectively in locations with declining sales and where we have been unable to identify sufficient growth opportunities. At the same time, we continue to open new Macy's store locations in communities where we believe we can operate successfully." Plans are afloat to open five new stores in 2008, and six to eight flagship stores in 2009.