J.C. Penney reportedly exploring filing for bankruptcy protection

A JC Penney store in Manhattan.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

With its 850 U.S. stores temporarily closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, J.C. Penney is contemplating filing for bankruptcy protection, several people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The company has had to furlough some of its 85,000 employees, and there are concerns that even when stores reopen, shoppers might not return, Reuters reports. While J.C. Penney has enough cash available to make it through the next few months, regulatory filings show it has a debt payment of about $12 million due on Wednesday and a $105 million bond repayment coming up in June.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.