NEW YORK (AP) Struggling department-store operator J.C. Penney announced it will cut 2,000 jobs and close 33 stores as it tries to get back on the path to profitability.

The store at the Laurel Mall in Hazleton is one of the stores closing.The news raises concerns that Penney's holiday season sales were not what the company hoped for and that the chain needs to do even more to recover from a turnaround plan that has had disastrous results.J.C. Penney Co., based in Plano, Texas, said earlier this month said it was pleased with its holiday results but declined to give sales figures, raising worries among Wall Street analysts about how the season actually fared.The cuts announced Wednesday should save more than $65 million annually. Penney has 116,000 staffers and operates more than 1,100 stores. All the job cuts are related to the store closings.