Today we can bring you early word that Circuit City is apparently on the verge of closing 155 stores and withdrawing from the consumer electronics business for good. Sister site the Consumerist broke the unverified news thanks to an insider tip, which has since been corroborated by a forum post over at Google Finance. Consumerist also reports that employees in certain departments, like car installation, will be unemployed within 48 hours (warranties will still be honored). Most closings are expected to be wrapped up by December 31, 2008. It's a sad day for everyone at Circuit City, but also an inevitable one, given the coverage we've seen over the past year. The Sony truck turnaround story from earlier this week was especially damning. [The Consumerist]

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