Ann Arbor area Lowe's stores escape list of store closings

Lowe's Companies Inc., which operates home improvement stores on Jackson Road in Scio Township and Carpenter Road in Pittsfield Township, is closing 20 stores nationwide. The list of store closings, which involved nearly 2,000 job cuts, included one store in Michigan.

The company also abandoned plans to open some new stores, cutting its growth from 30 new stores a year to 10 to 15 starting in 2012.

“Closing stores is never easy, given the impact on hard-working employees and local communities,” said Lowe's CEO Robert A. Niblock said in a statement. “However, we have an obligation to make tough decisions when necessary to improve profitability and strengthen our financial position.

Analysts applauded the move, according to MarketWatch, which quoted one expert describing the shuttered stores as “ex-urban locations hit worst by the implosion in housing markets from 2007 to 2010.”

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