Slimming Down at Liz

As part of a plan to return to profitability, Liz Claiborne Inc. is closing a jewelry distribution center in Rhode Island and using another center to handle its jewelry business. The closure means 100 jobs will be lost. In the past two years, Liz Claiborne has been streamlining its business, shedding labels such as C&C California and Shelli Segal and appointing J.C. Penney Inc. to be the only department store to carry the Liz Claiborne label. At the end of 2006, Liz Claiborne had 18,000 employees. It now has 12,500.