As a result of the merger of Office Depot and OfficeMax on November 5, 2013, the newly formed giant corporation found itself with many branches which duplicated their presence in certain locations. By the end of the first quarter of 2014 the company had 1,900 stores across the US. The closing of 400 outlets represents a 21 percent reduction in retail shops.
Office Depot did not disclose how many layoffs the closures will result in. However the company did say that they will be relocating their most talented employees in other job slots whenever they can.

“The overlapping retail footprint resulting from the merger provides us with a unique opportunity to consolidate and optimize our store portfolio, while maintaining the retail presence necessary to serve our customer,” stated Chairman and CEO Roland Smith.

Office Depot said in announcement last Tuesday that 150 stores will be closed down during the fourth quarter of 2014. Fourteen stores were already closed down during the first quarter of 2014. Office Depot is aiming for the closure of all 400 redundant stores by the end of 2016.

The bottom line for the giant office supply company should improve by about $75 million in saved annual revenue by the close of 2016. Earning should begin to go up already by next year.