ChopKo

ShopKo Stores (Green Bay, Wis.) announced a “strategic reorganization plan” in which it would close 23 stores and one of the company's distribution centers and eliminate approximately 2500 jobs (including 136 in the headquarters office). William Podany, president and ceo, called the plan a necessary effort to improve the productivity of assets and reduce debt in “a challenging retail environment.”

The roll of stores to be closed includes five in Illinois (Galesburg, Macomb, Moline, Pekin and Rockford), two in Indiana (both in Evansville), eight in Iowa (Bentonville, Clinton, Coralville, Keokuk, Muscatine, Spender and two in Cedar Rapids), two in Kansas (both in Wichita), three in Missouri (Hannibal, Joplin and Cape Girardeau), two in Nebraska (Hastings and Omaha) and one in Paducah, Ky.