CINCINNATI, United States — Macy's Inc said on Thursday it would lay off about 3,900 employees in corporate and management positions to help lessen some of the financial strain of dwindling sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department store chain, which had about 123,000 employees at the end of January, said it expects to save about $365 million in fiscal 2020 and about $630 million on an annual basis as a result of these layoffs.

Macy's in May estimated nearly $1 billion in operating losses in its first quarter and said it would turn into a "smaller company" after the brick-and-mortar retail sector was brought to a virtual standstill by coronavirus-led lockdowns.

The company said on Thursday it had reduced staffing at its stores, supply chains and customer support network, and would adjust levels as sales recover. Macy's said it would bring back most of its remaining furloughed employees in the first week of July.

Shares of the company fell about 3 percent in premarket trading.

By Uday Sampath; editor: Ramakrishnan M.