Two weeks after retailer The Limited announced it would explore its options, including a possible sale, the mall staple has begun notifying employees at its corporate offices that they could be out of a job and the company as a whole could close. 

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the retailer sent a letter to the Ohio Department of Job and Family services recently notifying the agency that it would begin layoffs as soon as today and that its headquarters in Columbus could close their doors amid continuously slipping sales. If the offices close, 248 jobs would go with it.

According to the letter, the privately-held company with 243 stores across the country is dealing with “significant debt obligations” as a result of “product misses and massive shifts in retail shopping trends.”

The company — which was once owned by L Brands, the mall juggernaut behind Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works — has now come to the conclusion that a sale is the only way to keep things afloat.

“We have now determined that the combination of sales misses and the level of existing financial obligations will require that the company be sold or we will have to wind down our operations due to an anticipated lack of operating capital,” the letter, as reported by the Dispatch, reads.

The Limited, which was purchased by Sun Capital Partners in 2007, says it is currently considering bids from potential buyers and is hopeful that it can continue operations.

Limited Stores to start layoffs as soon as today at headquarters [The Columbus Dispatch]

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