The Ann Arbor, Mich-based owner of the Waldenbooks chain says its store at Spokane Valley Mall is among 200 it plans to close in January.

The owner, Borders Group Inc., says that nationally about 1,500 positions—mostly part-time—will be eliminated in the closures. Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis declines to disclose how many jobs will be eliminated at the Valley store, which occupies about 3,000 square feet of leased space there. An employee at the store declined to say how many people work there.

The store, which opened in 1999, will close by Jan. 31, Davis says.

A clearance sale will begin next month and continue through January, she says. "What we don't sell will likely be returned to vendors."

Borders says the closures are part of an ongoing strategy to thin its Waldenbooks specialty retail segment, which includes Waldenbooks, Borders Express, and Borders Outlet stores, to make the segment more profitable. After the closures, that segment will have about 130 stores.

The company says employees have been informed of the plan and that it will make efforts to place some displaced employees in other positions within the company. Those employees eliminated will receive severance, Borders says.