PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) – Powell’s Books says it is closing all of its five Portland-area stores through March in response to COVID-19 outbreak. Powell’s Books, the world’s largest independent bookstore and a destination for literary lovers all over the world, has announced that it’s temporarily closing its five Oregon stores in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Powell's laid off nearly 400 people when it shut down its five stores last month. Days after temporarily closing due to the coronavirus, Powell’s Books in Portland will lay off most of its employees, the store’s owner and CEO wrote in a letter. Dear Powell's community, Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your incredible and unwavering support. Nike, meanwhile, is temporarily closing all of its retail stores in the U.S. and Western Europe. Your kind words, messages of encouragement, ideas for perseverance, and orders for books have taken our breath away.

Powell's City of Books is planning to close the parking garage that's part of its full city block store at 1005 W. Burnside St. Powell’s Books was selling books online before Amazon.com existed. Powell’s Books announced that it will be closing two of its three concourse stores at Portland International Airport this summer when the leases expire. Powell’s Books announced that it will be closing two of its three concourse stores at Portland International Airport this summer when the leases expire. Update, March 17: According to an internal email sent to Powell's staff, Powell's Books does "not expect to resume normal business operations for several months." Recently, Powell's brought an unspecified number of its employees back to ship books sold online.

Powell’s Books warned employees Monday night that it will take “several months” to restore normal operations and indicated some layoffs announced Sunday will be permanent, not temporary. PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - Powell’s Books is laying off the “vast majority” of its employees due to COVID-19 closures. — Powell's Books (@Powells) March 18, 2020 The news comes just days after Powell's announced it was temporarily closing its five locations through March 31 out of concern for the safety of its employees and the community. Browse staff picks, author features, and more. Shop new, used, rare, and out-of-print books. Powell's has five Portland-area locations. PORTLAND, Ore. — Powell’s Books, closed since Sunday, has laid off the “vast majority” of its employees and is facing an existential threat from the coronavirus outbreak.

Powell's is an independent bookstore based in Portland, Oregon. The stores will remain closed through March 27. PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - Powell’s Books is laying off the “vast majority” of its employees due to COVID-19 closures. Days after temporarily closing due to the coronavirus, Powell's Books in Portland will lay off most of its employees, the store's owner and CEO wrote in a letter. Powell's made the announcement on Sunday. Powell's Books and Nike have joined a long list of retailers that have decided to temporarily close in response to the spreading novel coronavirus.