UPDATE: Speak Out: Best Buy to Close 50 U.S. Stores

, laying off 400 employees at both corporate and support levels, the company announced last Thursday. 

The news comes after the Richfield, MN-based company released its fiscal year fourth-quarter earnings, showing a $1.7 billion loss. 

It's not yet clear which of the company's stores it plans to close. Northern Virginia has 10 Best Buy stores, including locations in Woodbridge,, Reston and Fairfax.

"We are taking the necessary steps this next year to evolve our total retail store strategy, and make it even easier for customers to shop with Best Buy and access our services," said spokesperson Jeremy Baier.

To achieve this, Baier said one of the first steps will be the closing of 50 U.S. Best Buy stores to fuel growth initiatives that will include connected stores that provide better service and product interactivity.

"We are deliberate and thoughtful when we make such decisions. We are working to ensure the impact to our employees will be as minimal as possible, while serving all customers in a convenient and satisfying way," Baier said. "We will announce details about specific store locations and timing for closings once they are finalized."

With more people turning to websites such as Amazon.com to purchase electronics and goods, more and more physical stores are disappearing. It's happened with Circuit City and Border's in recent years.

A DailyFinance.com article (Five Big Retail Chains That Will Be Gone in 5 Years) from January alleges that stores like Best Buy are having a hard time keeping up with their online competition and staying competitive. People now use stores like Best Buy to test out and try devices before purchasing them elsewhere for less, and items such as CDs and DVDs are becoming obsolete. 

How, or where, do you buy your gadgets? Do you shop at Best Buy and other brick-and-mortar stores? Would you miss the local Best Buy? Are you comfortable shopping online? How do you feel about the loss of jobs? Let us know by speaking out in the comments.