COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The owner of Polaris Fashion Place and a couple other Ohio malls is laying off corporate staff in Columbus as the company prepares to list the shopping centers on the market. Washington Prime Group, the central Ohio-based owner of Polaris, announced in an April city lett er 139 employees at the company's Westerville headquarters at 4900 E. Dublin Granville Rd. will be terminated. The layoffs, which include senior directors and vice presidents, will occur gradually, beginning June 2 and concluding by March 31 of next year. As Big Lots stores relaunch, when will Ohio locations open? The mass layoff announcement comes as Washington Prime is readying to sell Polaris and the 70 other retail centers it owns across the country, including The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek and Great Lakes Mall in Mentor. "As part of WPG's multi-year journey, the company continues to sell assets in its portfolio, with about half of WPG's properties sold in the past year, while the remainder of the portfolio is or will soon be on the market," a spokesperson said. "As a result, WPG is reducing its headcount to reflect the downsized organization." Polaris Fashion Place at 1500 Polaris Parkway in Columbus. (Courtesy Photo/Polaris Fashion Place) The Mall at Fairfield Commons at 2727 Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek. (Courtesy Photo/Washington Prime Group) Great Lakes Mall at 7850 Mentor Avenue in Mentor. (Courtesy Photo/Washington Prime Group) The spokesperson said Washington Prime's strategy "has been transparently communicated and understood for some time," and the company has worked with employees to ensure they have the resources needed to navigate the layoffs. Ongoing support includes a severance package and access to outplacement services, like job search assistance, resume workshops, professional headshots and a development program launched last summer to help colleagues obtain certifications and degrees in preparation for their next place of employment, the spokesperson said. Reynoldsburg City Schools cuts 51 teachers in $8.5M budget cuts after levy fails Washington Prime filed for bankruptcy in June 2021, after the company reported in 2020 it had $3.2 billion in debt. At the time, the retail center owner operated several other Ohio shopping malls that have since been sold, including Indian Mound Mall in Heath, Dayton Mall, Lima Mall and Southern Park Mall in Youngstown. The company's headquarters is a leased space inside the Westerville building owned by Big Lots to also house staff. In the same fashion, the retail chain announced in a December city letter it would layoff more than 500 corporate employees, following Big Lots' bankruptcy filing last September and sale to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners in January. Since then, Gordon Brothers has entered into an agreement to sell the 4900 E. Dublin Granville Rd. property to OhioHealth for $36 million. ...read more read less