Penneys has shut all shops in the Republic of Ireland because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Staff will be paid in full for two weeks and then the situation will be reviewed.
Around 5,000 staff work in the chain.
The retail chain said that the health and welfare of their staff and customers was the reason for the closure.
In a statement the firm said: "With the health and welfare of our employees and customers front of mind, we have made the decision to close our stores in the Republic of Ireland, until further notice.
"Penneys has overcome many challenges over the past 50 years, and we pride ourselves on our agility and our ability to adapt.
"We thank all our employees, customers, suppliers and partners for their continued support."
More than 4,000 workers were sent home tonight as Arnotts and the Brown Thomas chain shut their stores.
IKEA also announced it was shutting all its cafes and bistros, but the stores would remain open in Dublin and Cork.
And fast food giant McDonald's said its restaurants will become takeaways, drive-thrus and delivery operations only.
They were the biggest casualties yesterday as companies around the country attempt to cope with the coronavirus outbreak.
But the virus is already taking a shocking toll on the retail sector.
All around the country small businesses including cafes and shops which had tried to remain open were closing their doors.
Arnotts and Brown Thomas which includes the BT2 outlets will maintain an online presence.
Some workers will be kept on to deal with online orders.
Donald McDonald, managing director at both department stores, wrote to staff.
He said: “This decision has been taken after giving the utmost consideration to our team members well-being , their families, our customers, our partners, our suppliers and the longer term future of our business”.
He confirmed brownthomas.com and Arnotts.ie would continue to operate and their focus was now on supporting its digital and social platforms.
“Given the circumstances we must now do the right thing by the communities in which we live and work to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus,” Mr McDonald said.
As well as the flagship Brown Thomas Store on Grafton Street , there are also shops in Cork, Limerick and Galway as well as BT2 stores in Dundrum and Blanchardstown shopping centres.
On Tuesday Retail Excellence Ireland predicted that hundreds of thousands of people working in retail in Ireland could be out of work this week .
Footfall in Dublin City Centre was already 33% down on usual volumes last week.
