[Update: Nine additional Kmart stores have been added to this list since publication. Those stores are in Centre, AL; Claymont, DE; New Port Richey, FL; Forest Park, IL; Iron Mountain, MI; Reidsville, NC; Warren, PA; Dickson, TN and Dale City, VA.]

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is laying off at least 6,067 workers and closing over 110 Kmart, Sears and Sears Auto Center locations, many before Christmas.

Sears spokesman Howard Riefs declined to speak by phone. "We disclose our store counts at the end of each quarter," he said via email. "We don't have further comment."

Riefs' name, however, appears at the bottom of individual liquidation sale notices sent to local media since mid-September. Inquiries with stores, mall managers and reporters across the country reveal that at least 55 Kmart stores, 30 Sears department stores and 31 Sears Auto Centers are scheduled to close before the end of January. Most notably, Sears is liquidating its location at the largest mall in America, the King of Prussia Mall in suburban Philadelphia, and will instead sublet the space to Primark, a low-cost Irish apparel chain. Sears closed its flagship Chicago store in April. More closures could be added, as new liquidations have become public as recently as Wednesday. The following table will be updated.

(Story continues below.)

All things must go: Exclusive list of closures at Sears Holdings Corp.

[Update: A previous version of this story said the Washington Square Mall Sears and Sears Auto Center in Evansville, Indiana were closing. It is in fact the Washington Square Mall Sears and Sears Auto Center in Indianapolis, Indiana that are closing. The Evansville locations will remain open, according to Sears spokesman Howard Riefs.]

States hardest hit by the closures include Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana, as well as New York, Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Minnesota. Many of the shutdowns have dealt blows to malls and surrounding communities that were already in decline. Other shopping centers quickly revealed new tenants as replacements.

These closures add to the 96 stores Sears Holdings announced it had closed in the first half of fiscal 2014. That compares to 93 locations shuttered in all of 2013. Riefs would not explain whether these earlier numbers count Sears Auto Centers separately from Sears department stores. Some Sears and Sears Auto Center locations are closing independently of each other, and liquidation notices refer to the two formats separately.

In brief statements to local media, Sears said the closures were part of an effort to "reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model." But some analysts have been more fatalistic about the company's prospects, warning that Sears is "burning furniture to stay warm," that the company has "entered the swirling black vortex," and that "this is the end" for the retailer. Sears has responded to similarly negative analysis as being "very one-sided," adding, "We have substantial resources available to us to fund our transformation."

Revenue at Sears has declined for 30 straight quarters. The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company has posted losses of over $1.8 billion over the past four quarters, and shares in the retailer have lost more than a third of their value over the past year. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that at least one vendor has halted shipments to the company, adding that insurers have cut coverage for Sears' suppliers, raising questions among observers about the company's ability to secure merchandise for the holiday period. But Sears called that report "misleading" and asserted that its stores are well-stocked.

Liquidating stores isn't the only way Sears is raising cash. The company has announced a variety of other initiatives to boost liquidity, including a $400 million loan from CEO Edward S. Lampert's eponymous hedge fund, ESL Investments, announced in September; $168 million raised from selling Sears Canada stock to ESL earlier this month; and a $625 million bond offering announced on Monday, which ESL will also participate in.

The Fitch credit rating agency downgraded Sears' issuer default rating to "CC" last month.

Shares in Sears Holdings were down 1.06% Wednesday to close at $34.42.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2587065-sears-layoffs-top-6000-closing-over-110-outlets