J.C. Penney plans to close its store at Bonita Lakes Mall in Meridian, according to a list of targeted stores posted Friday on the J.C. Penney website.

The company announced Feb. 24 its intent to close two distribution facilities and 130-140 retail stores, stating that most stores would begin a liquidation process in April and close in June.

Meridian store manager Josh Sanders could not be reached for comment on Friday.

At the time of that announcement, a local J.C. Penney manager said she thought the Meridian store would remain open.

“We’re not going anywhere,” local J.C. Penny Merchandise Manager Tina Jones said in February. “We weren’t nervous about being one of the stores that might be closing because we’re the best store in the area.”

Jones said in February the local J.C. Penney has between 85-90 employees.

Jones could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Customer Gracie Jowers came to J.C. Penney store Friday afternoon once she heard about the closing, meeting with two friends.

“It’s sad” said Jowers, who used to work for the salon inside J.C. Penney. “I just feel bad for the employees that have to find new jobs. I used to work in the beauty shop and I know it’s hard.”

Jowers and her friend, Janice Moore, agreed that J.C. Penney offered a range of employment options for those seeking a second part-time job or just an extra shift over the holidays.

“I think it’s going to have a big impact on the city,” Moore said. Moore came to the store to shop for suits for her son. “It’s really going to have a big impact.”

“As long as I’ve been alive there’s been a J.C. Penney,” Lillie Hudson, 77, added. “I still remember the lady from when the J.C. Penney was downtown.”

The Bonita Lakes Mall has four “anchor” department stores: J.C. Penney, Belk, Dillard’s and Sears. The mall manager, Renee Williams, was not available for comment on Friday.

J.C. Penney will be closing five stores in Mississippi and four in Alabama, according to the news release.

The department store giant’s quarterly results, also released Feb. 24, illustrate its struggle to connect with shoppers: Sales were down 0.7 percent at stores open more than a year. And yet the report also demonstrated that J.C. Penney, unlike department store rivals such as Macy’s and Sears, has had improving momentum lately. The company managed to deliver a net profit in 2016, the first time it has done so since 2010.

J.C. Penney’s decision to close stores comes as many industry executives and analysts say that old-school chains are “overstored,” meaning they have too many locations for the era of online shopping. Macy’s is in the process of closing 100 stores and eliminating some 10,000 jobs. Sears said in January it would close 150 stores, some from its namesake chain, and some from the Kmart chain.

Marvin Ellison, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement that J.C. Penney is slashing stores because “we believe we must take aggressive action to better align our retail operations for sustainable growth.”

J.C. Penney said the affected stores account for less than 5 percent of total sales. It expects the closures will result in $200 million of annual cost savings.