Sears Officially Files for Bankruptcy The 132-year-old company has been struggling for several years and is <br />drowning in debt. Sears says it intends to stay in <br />business, keeping open stores <br />that are profitable. As of now, about 700 Sears stores remain open with 68,000 workers. That's down from 1,000 stores with <br />89,000 employees that it had as <br />recently as February. Sears says it will close at least <br />142 stores near the end<br />of this year. That's in addition to the 46 store closings already planned for next month. In July, Sears closed its last store <br />in the city of Chicago, once its hometown.
