COEUR d’ALENE — Fred Meyer on Kathleen Avenue is not among the 60 Kroger-owned stores set to close nationwide over the next 18 months, the location confirmed Tuesday.

“We are definitely staying open,” said store director Cory Hallett.

Six Fred Meyer locations in the Pacific Northwest have announced closures in recent weeks, most in the Seattle area and surrounding cities.

A few hundred employees will be affected with each closure, though Kroger will be providing opportunities for employees to transfer to other stores.

A full list of Kroger store closures has not been released.

The closures come as the company identified an impairment charge of $100 million in its first quarter earnings report, which was released in June.

"Impairment charge" refers to “a reduction in, or total loss of, the recoverable value of an asset,” and can occur due to economic conditions and other financial factors, according to Investopedia.

"Due to a steady rise in theft and a challenging regulatory environment that adds significant costs, we can no longer make these stores financially viable," Kroger told Seattle’s KING 5 in a statement.

Kroger did not specify what regulations are posing a challenge to the company.

Kroger reported $45.1 billion in sales in Q1, according to a news release posted June 20, down slightly from $45.3 billion during the same period last year.

“While first-quarter sales and profitability exceeded our expectations, the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain,” Kroger Chief Financial Officer David Kennerly said in a statement.

Kroger expects to see a “modest financial benefit” from the store closures, and “is committed to reinvesting these savings back into the customer experience,” the release said.

Kroger currently owns and operates 132 Fred Meyer stores across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, in addition to 59 QFC locations in Oregon and Washington.