by: CNN Wire

Posted: Aug 26, 2020 / 09:05 AM PDT / Updated: Aug 26, 2020 / 09:05 AM PDT

Bed Bath & Beyond is eliminating 2,800 jobs effective immediately, as the troubled retailer tries to streamline its operations and shore up its finances amid the pandemic.

The significant reduction of corporate employees and retail workers will help Bed Bath & Beyond save $150 million in annual pretax cost savings, the company said Tuesday. As of February, the retailer had 55,000 employees, so the cuts amount to 5% of its total workforce.

Tuesday’s “action forms part of a series of changes we are making to reduce the cost of our business, further simplify our operations and support our teams so we can emerge from the pandemic in an even stronger position,” CEO Mark Tritton said in the statement.

Last month, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it was permanently closing 200 stores starting later this year. Brick-and-mortar stores continue to struggle as people shift their shopping online. The company, which also operates Buybuy Baby, Christmas Tree Shops and Harmon Face Values, has about 1,500 stores. Nearly 1,000 of those are Bed Bath & Beyond locations.

Tritton was named Bed Bath & Beyond’s CEO last October, joining the retailer from Target. In addition to the layoffs and store closures, Tritton is bolstering the company’s digital efforts and launching new in-house brands next year.