NEW YORK -- Macy's says it will close 11 underperforming stores in 9 states -- affecting 960 employees -- after one of the weakest holiday seasons in years.

Stores slated for closure include locations in Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, Nashville and St. Louis, among others. Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. says the closures will cost about $65 million, most of which will be booked in the 2008 fourth quarter.

The news comes as Macy's says its December sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, fell 4 percent. That's better than the 5.3 percent drop analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting. However, Macy's is lowering its forecast for the fourth quarter and full year due to heavy markdowns.

The Macy's location at the Town Center Mall in Charleston is not included in the closure announcement.

Here is the list of the stores that are closing:

- Ernst & Young Plaza (Citicorp Plaza), Los Angeles. (136 employees, opened in 1986)

- The Citadel, Colorado Springs, Colo. (105 employees, opened in 1984)

- Westminster Mall, Westminster, Colo. (110 employees, opened in 1986)

- Palm Beach Mall, West Palm Beach, Fla. (71 employees, opened in 1979)

Stores slated for closure include locations in Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, Nashville and St. Louis, among others. Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. says the closures will cost about $65 million, most of which will be booked in the 2008 fourth quarter.

The news comes as Macy's says its December sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, fell 4 percent. That's better than the 5.3 percent drop analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting. However, Macy's is lowering its forecast for the fourth quarter and full year due to heavy markdowns.

The Macy's location at the Town Center Mall in Charleston is not included in the closure announcement.

Here is the list of the stores that are closing:

- Ernst & Young Plaza (Citicorp Plaza), Los Angeles. (136 employees, opened in 1986)

- The Citadel, Colorado Springs, Colo. (105 employees, opened in 1984)

- Westminster Mall, Westminster, Colo. (110 employees, opened in 1986)

- Palm Beach Mall, West Palm Beach, Fla. (71 employees, opened in 1979)

- Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii (3 employees, opened in 1983)

- Lafayette Square, Indianapolis (84 employees, opened in 1974)

- Brookdale Center, Brooklyn Center, Minn. (72 employees, opened in 1966)

- Crestwood Mall, St. Louis (176 employees, opened in 1969)

- Natrona Heights Plaza, Natrona Heights, Pa. (124 employees, opened in 1956)

- Century III Furniture and Clearance, West Mifflin, Pa. (3 employees, opened in 2000)

- Bellevue Center, Nashville, Tenn. (76 employees; opened in 1990)