Gap is closing 175 stores and firing a bunch of people

Gap is downsizing its staff and stores.

In a statement on Monday, the company said it will close 175 specialty stores in North America "over the next few years."

It will shut down as many as 140 stores this fiscal year.

It will cut about 250 jobs from its headquarter workforce during this fiscal year.

The closures and job cuts are the company's attempt to recover from five straight quarters of sales declines, Bloomberg reported.

In the statement, Gap president Jeff Kirwan said: "These decisions are very difficult, knowing they will affect a number of our valued employees, but we are confident they are necessary to help create a winning future for our employees, our customers and our shareholders."

CEO Art Peck said: "Customers are rapidly changing how they shop today, and these moves will help get Gap back to where we know it deserves to be in the eyes of consumers."

The company expects that these actions will cost between $140 million and $160 million. It expects to save about $25 million annually from next year, it said.

In after-hours trading, shares rose about 1%. The stock is down 9% year-to-date.