Carson's Cutting 3,500 Illinois Employees As It Closes Stores

CHICAGO (CBS) - The department store chain "Carson's" announced the store will be shutting down permanently this summer.

Thousands of store employees will be looking for new jobs, including 3,500 employees spread across Illinois.

35 stores in the state, along with 2 distribution centers, will be closed by August 31.

Some stores may close sooner, depending on the amount of merchandise left.

Meanwhile J.C. Penney's is also struggling to stay afloat, as stocks tumbled more than 12% Thursday.

In its first quarter, J.C. Penney's reported losing $69 million. Compared to last year's first quarter, the store is down $181 million.

J.C. Penney's says the cold weather hurt sales in kids and women's clothing.

Macy's, on the other hand, is beating the odds. The department store had a stellar first quarter report with sales increasing 3.6% to $5.4 billion.