Kmart Corp., the nation's No. 2 discount retailer, has notified the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation that it will close two stores in Maryland and lay off 147 employees by the end of April.

Kmart will shut down its Bel Air store, in Tollgate Plaza at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Route 24, by April 21. The store employs 48 people, Kmart said in its filing with the state.

A second store, in Suitland in Prince George's County, will close by mid-April. It employs 99 people, Kmart said.

Both stores have begun close-out sales.

Officials of Kmart, based in Troy, Mich., could not be reached for comment yesterday on the store closings.

Kmart recently announced that it will pay about $75 million for the rights to 11 stores in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Delaware owned by Caldor Corp., which is going out of business.

Pub Date: 3/02/99