Saks is laying off 69 employees in New Jersey as it prepares to close three stores in the state before filing for bankruptcy in January 2026, public documents show.
The company took on $2 billion in debt a year ago after acquiring rival chain Neiman Marcus, and court documents cited inflation, tariff-related uncertainty from potential lenders and declining foot traffic as reasons for its financial woes.
The layoffs of the 69 employees will be effective May 4, 2026, according to public documents filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor in January.
Representatives for Saks did not immediately respond to an email Monday morning seeking comment for this story.
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There is only one Saks Fifth Avenue location in New Jersey: the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford. The store is located in The Avenue, the luxury wing of the mall, which is home to other high-end retailers such as Gucci, Hermes and Balenciaga.
David Schwartz, an analyst at investment research firm Morningstar, said locations like American Dream, the nation’s second-largest mall, could do well given existing foot traffic.
Saks closed three discount stores in New Jersey, known as Saks OFF 5th, on January 31, 2026, as well as 31 other stores across the United States. A further 23 stores will close today (February 2).
Here are three New Jersey locations slated to close, according to the company’s website:
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chimney rockbridgewater
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shrewsbury squareshrewsbury
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Jersey Garden Mills MallElizabeth
The Saks OFF 5th store will still be located at The Outlets in downtown Paramus Bergen, according to the Saks website. Saks OFF 5th on Route 10 in East Hanover closed in mid-January, NJ.com reported.
The website saksoff5th.com began phasing out operations and began a closing sale on January 30.
Saks CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said in a statement on January 29, “Decisive steps are being taken to adjust our business to better serve our luxury customers and drive full-price sales in our core luxury business.”
“With these actions, we will be well-positioned to capture the best opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” he continued.
In January, Saks announced it had received $1.75 billion in funding to sustain its operations during the bankruptcy process. As part of the bankruptcy agreement, Saks also selected a new CEO, Van Raemdonck, who previously served as CEO of Neiman Marcus.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
e-mail: munozd@northjersey.com; twitter:@danielmunoz100Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Saks says it will lay off New Jersey employees. How many is this
