Circuit City sinks further into sunset

More bad news: Circuit City is shuttering 155 of its 760 stores and laying off their staffs. The cuts will affect thousands of employees and end Circuit City’s presence in 55 markets. The stores will close on Election Day with liquidation sales to follow.

A company cited worsening consumer confidence, the overall eeconym, and the company’s inability to collect an $80 million tax rebate it feels it is owed by the federal government. Some of its vendors had started tightening payment terms and credit available to the chain after it announced poor second-quarter earnings late last month..

Circuit City is not alone in its consumer electronic retail woes. Late last year, CompUSA, the former retail giant, closed the last of its stores.