Kmart Closing Stores, Slashing Jobs

Updated from 10:40 a.m. EST

Kmart (KM Quote) rolled out the first stage of its revamping Friday morning, saying it would close 284 stores and slash 22,000 jobs to improve its financial performance.

Kmart said it would take a charge of $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion to cover the costs of the moves, which are expected to goose cash flow by $550 million this year. The moves will boost annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by $31 million, Kmart said. ...