ATLANTA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge gave Circuit City Stores
Inc approval to continue payments to hundreds of employees who were laid off
last month, a company spokesman said on Friday.
"We're very pleased with the decision," spokesman Bill Cimino said in an
email.
The second-biggest U.S. electronics retailer filed for Chapter 11
protection in its headquarters city of Richmond, Virginia, last month, weighed
down by stricter terms from suppliers, weak consumer spending and a
deteriorating cash position. It said 700 workers were laid off on Nov. 7.
Circuit City, which competes with Best Buy Co, is hoping to restructure
operations and exit bankruptcy protection in the first half of next year. It is
currently holding liquidation sales at 155 stores, or more than one-fifth of its
U.S. retail base.
Last month, Mexican retail and media mogul Ricardo Salinas Pliego
confirmed that he owns a stake of at least 28 percent in Circuit City and
indicated he might seek control of the bankrupt chain. Salinas owns Mexico's TV
Azteca broadcaster.
Separately, the New York Stock Exchange said in a U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission filing this week that it plans to delist Circuit City's
common shares on Dec. 15. The NYSE had suspended the shares on Nov. 10, when
Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection.
(Reporting by Karen Jacobs, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Keywords:
CIRCUITCITY/COURT
(karen.jacobs@thomsonreuters.com; +1 404 493-3656; Reuters Messaging:
karen.jacobs.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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