How Amazon's growth causes retailers to close stores

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

Amazon giveth, and Amazon taketh.

The giant internet retailer said on April 27 that it will create 2,000 full-time jobs by opening two more fulfillment centers in New Jersey.

One will be a 600,000-square-foot facility in Florence, Burlington County, generating 500 new jobs.

The other will be an 800,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Carteret, Middlesex County, that will generate about 1,500 jobs.

Together, the two facilities will bring Amazon's total physical footprint in the Garden State to 2.5 million square feet of space, if you count three existing centers.

The irony is that Amazon made the announcement the day after a news report that retailers were prepping to lay off 37,000 workers this year, due largely to the shuttering of brick-and-mortar stores.

The 37,000 is the most in one year since the 2008 recession - and more than double the number of layoffs in 2015.

Online shopping is the cause, led by Amazon.com.

The supply of square footage.